Am I in a Harem?
by TheAnimeFicWriter
Summary: Umi's always been such a modest person until something changes in her life. Her friends around her start to develop feelings for her that none of them can hope to understand. All that they know is that it's a fight to claim Umi's precious heart. Who will win?
1. Chapter 1

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 1

Harem Beginning

 **Note:** I know I said that I would take a certain amount of time off, but I did manage to start this story off for your guys. It may or may not come out weekly since I don't really know how my schedule will work right now. As for the story, Umi took the win by a large margin which I'm really happy about since she's my best girl. That aside, I'm gonna try to make this as much of a harem as possible without the typical, annoying things a harem entitles. I hope you all you enjoy what's to come and I'd like to end with this question: How do you feel with Umi eventually picking someone to be with?

My name is Sonoda Umi and I'm a second year in high school. I love my family and I love to do archery. Those things are my life. I don't know what I would be doing if those things didn't get introduced to me in the past. As for my personal life, I'm not too popular. I'm the MVP of the archery club so that offers a few perks. Other than that, I try not to attract a lot of attention. I have two really great friends that I've known ever since I was little: Kousaka Honoka and Minami Kotori. Those two are the best friends anyone could ask for. The only problem is that ever since we entered our second year of high school, things started to change between us. It wasn't anything bad; it was just weird… A very weird change.

…

Another morning came around and Umi woke up bright and early. She attempted to stretch out her arms, but there was something stopping her. When she looked down, she saw a lump underneath her blanket. She knew she didn't get fat overnight so this was obviously something else. She threw up the blankets and saw someone completely naked, latching onto her body.

"Hyah!"

"Uuhhh, is it morning already?"

"Kotori, what are you doing here?"

"Huh? Well, when I finished walking you home, I got really tired. I didn't really feel like walking all of the way home so I climbed up to your room and spent the night."

"That's not what I'm talking about! Why are you naked and in my bed?!"

"You're really warm and I like to be warm when I sleep."

"That doesn't excuse the fact that you're naked. If you're cold, put some clothes on. Don't use me to keep you warm."

"Aw, Umi-chan, there's no need to get so shy." At that moment, Kotori started to crawl towards Umi, still without her clothes on. Meanwhile, Umi's face was turning bright red. She couldn't believe this girl would to such extremes. Right as their lips were about to touch, Umi stuck her hand in her face and pushed her off the bed.

"Put your clothes on and get ready for school." Umi threw her clothes and stormed out of the room to get ready. As that happened, Kotori simply gloomed on the ground. She was so sure that her plan would work. Unfortunately, Umi is a very spot-on person. A half-assed method like this wouldn't be good enough to throw her off-guard. Kotori got on her feet and started to get dressed. While she did that, her mind was hard at work, thinking of ways to finally knock Umi off of her feet.

Once the two of them were ready, they headed out the door and made their way to school. Right as they started their walk, Honoka was outside of Umi's house, waiting to walk with them. They greeted each other with a friendly "good morning" and started their walk. As always, Honoka started up a conversation that immediately threw up some red flags for Kotori.

"So Umi-chan, did you sleep well?"

"Of course I did. Honoka, you know that once I fall asleep, I'm like a rock."

"Haha, that's true. I don't know why I keep asking that question."

"Well, you are a little loopy in the morning," she said as she patted Honoka's head. This didn't sit well with Kotori. She was the one who saw her first in the morning and yet, Umi's acting as if she's not even there.

"Hey, I had an awesome dream last night."

"Oh really, what happened?"

"It's kind of embarrassing, actually, but I guess I'll tell you anyway." Out of nowhere, Honoka hugged Umi's right arm and started her little story.

"You and I were living in a log cabin out in the country and it was the sweetest thing ever. For once, you slept in and I made you breakfast. When you did wake up, you smiled and gave me a huge kiss on the…"

"Umi-chan!" Kotori couldn't stay quiet any longer. She threw her arms around Umi's left arm and made sure Umi looked in her direction. "I had a similar dream, but mine was even cuter than that."

"Hey, Kotori-chan, I wasn't finished with my story."

"Sorry, but you took too long." The two girls started to have a little argument with Umi right in the middle.

"Um, you guys are killing me right now." They didn't listen to her. As they continued to argue at each other, their grip on Umi continued to tighten until she felt like she was losing circulation in her arms. She didn't want this to go on so threw her arms in all sorts of directions until she managed to break free of their grip. "You guys need to stop. The day just started and we haven't even reached campus yet. What is up with you two today?" Without waiting for a response, Umi turned around and headed to school by herself. Meanwhile, Honoka and Kotori watched her in sadness, but immediately turned their heads and gave each other dirty looks.

When they arrived at school, they did their necessary preparations before class started. They grabbed their shoes, said hi to their other friends, and made their way to their classroom. As they walked, Honoka and Kotori were out for each other and Umi noticed this. They were bickering back and forth while Umi tried to flush them out. Unfortunately, that didn't work. It got to the point where she had to step in once again. Right as they got to the top of the stairs, Umi turned around and asserted herself at them.

"Okay, I don't know what's wrong with you two, but you need to calm down. Whatever the problem, please fix it. I don't like having to take care of you all of the time." They dropped their heads, but on the inside, they wanted her to take care of them. "Now, get over it and let's get to class." Right as she turned around, she bumped into a girl and knocked her to the ground.

"Ah, my glasses."

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry." Umi knelt down and grabbed her glasses and put them right in front of the girl. "Here you go. I'm terribly sorry about that."

"It's okay." When she put her glasses back on, she saw Umi right in front of her and her heart immediately skipped a beat. To this girl, she was the most beautiful thing in the entire world. It was almost an angel was right in front of her.

"Are you sure? I feel bad about this. I'm usually not this clumsy. It's just that my friends are being a handful today."

"N-No, it's fine. It's my fault for not paying attention to what's in front of me." Umi smiled and stuck out her hand. The girl nervously grabbed it and felt her warmth. She was so surprised that someone could be this warm. "T-Thank you…"

"Umi. Sonoda Umi. What's your name?"

"K-Koizumi Hanayo."

"Koizumi-san, it's nice to meet you." She let go of her hand and headed down the hall. "I hope to see you again." she waved goodbye as she made her way into her classroom. Honoka and Kotori followed not too far behind her, completely jealous of what they just witnessed.

On the other hand, Hanayo was lost in everything. She didn't know where she was, what she was doing, or anything like that. All she knew was that that girl was so nice and so beautiful. All of this time, people never really paid any attention to her and yet, this girl made her feel like they were alone together, as happy as could be. And she was happy. There was only one other person who made her feel this way, but they weren't too good at it.

"Kayo-chin!" She turned around and saw her other friend running towards her. "Kayo-chin, where'd you go? I thought you left me."

"I'm sorry Rin-chan. I was just… Wait, what was I doing?"

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 2

The Start of a Harem

 **Note:** Hey everyone, I'm back and I'm so sorry for missing out this past week. A lot of things happened that I just don't want to get into at the moment. Putting that aside, here's the update and I'm you all enjoy.

As the day came to a start, Umi finally had some alone time. She was exhausted because of Honoka and Kotori's strange behavior. Normally, she could handle their behavior, but for some reason, this behavior was different in a weird way. She didn't want to think too much about this since she wasn't fond of overthinking certain things. Gym class was the last of morning classes and today, they were sharing the athletic fields with the first years. They were also given the chance to do whatever they wanted. Since Honoka and Kotori weren't really the sporting type, they asked if Umi wanted to walk around the track, but she had different plans. A bunch of girls got a soccer game going and she was one of them who was picked to play. This angered Honoka and Kotori because there was no way they could have alone time with Umi.

Right as the game started, Umi immediately showed her dominance. She was ripping through the field leading the charge for her team. She had a couple of first years on her team, but she didn't know any of them. Most of the other team was first years so it was a little unfair. Whenever Umi had the ball, she bobbed and weaved around all of the players and scored nearly every shot. Once they realized that Umi was joking, one of the girls on the opposite team decided to step up her game.

She decided to guard Umi while the other girls made sure none of the other girls got open. Her coverage was very good. Umi was starting to get annoyed that this girl was on her so much. Every time she juked around her, the other girl would quickly return to her side and block the ball from every getting in Umi's possession. However, Umi decided to step up her game even more. When her guard received the ball, Umi came up next to her and slide tackled her. However, this didn't lead to the results she wanted. The girl rolled on the ground and ended up grabbing her ankle.

"Aaahhhh!" Umi knew she made a huge mistake and ran to her side.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Can you walk?"

"I think something's wrong with my ankle." Umi looked down and saw that her ankle was quickly swelling up. Without wasting any time, she carried her in her arms and walked her to the nurse's office. "Um, thank you for doing this."

"Of course. I kind of feel responsible for this so I couldn't have anyone else doing this." Once they arrived at her room, Umi opened the door and poked her head inside. She looked around, but noticed that the nurse wasn't in there. She walked inside and gently placed the girl on one of the beds.

"Well, thank you for doing this. I'll be fine."

"What are you talking about? I can't leave you here when the nurse isn't here. That injury needs to be treated immediately." At that moment, Umi searched through the room for the necessary supplies. Meanwhile, the injured girl couldn't help but smile at this girl's efforts for her. Umi ended up grabbing some ice and a lot of athletic wrap.

"Alright, here we go." Umi started off by gently removing her shoe. This was by far the hardest thing to do since the swelling was starting to shape to the size of her shoe. Umi made sure she was gentle and the injured made sure to stay strong. Once the shoe was off, Umi packed on the ice to the sensitive area which surprised both of them when she nearly kicked Umi in the face.

"Oh sorry."

"Haha, it's okay." As the ice remained on the injured area, Umi finished up with tightly wrapping the tape around her leg. Once she was done, she smiled at the girl and put away the supplies. "Feel any better?"

"Yes I do. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, and I'm so sorry for doing that to you. I just got so caught up in the game. Not many people can compete with me like the way you did so I give you a thumbs up for that."

"Haha, thank you."

"I'm Umi, by the way. Sonoda Umi."

"Hoshizora Rin." Umi smiled and Rin smiled back at her.

"Well, it was nice meeting you…"

"Sonoda-san, please report to the student council room immediately. Thank you." The PA system caught the two of them by surprise.

"Be sure to rest up. Hopefully, we can have a rematch and I'll be sure to play fairer."

"Okay." They waved goodbye to each other as Umi left the room. Meanwhile, Rin looked down at her injured ankle and could still feel the warmth of Umi's hands touching her swelled up ankle. "What is this feeling in my chest? Why do I feel so hot? Today's not even hot."

Umi walked over to the student council room as some of the members made their way out of the room. As they left, one of the girls met eyes with Umi. She had long, purple hair and had a really sweet smile as she passed her. However, Umi didn't put a lot of thought into this. She just made her way into the room and asked what was up. When she made it into the room, she saw a beautiful, blonde girl staring out of the window. It wasn't until Umi spoke up when the other girl noticed her presence.

"You said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I did."

"I am Ayase Eli and I'm the student council president. I would only assume that you know my job as the student council president."

"I guess I do."

"Well, I am in charge of keeping order at this school and it has come to my attention that you've been causing a ruckus amongst the students." Umi was confused that she had to speak up.

"What are you talking about? I never cause any problems."

"It's not that you're doing it on purpose. Your popularity have spread like wildfire and everyone wants everyone wants to be with you. It's affecting their academic ability."

"Um, I'm not trying to sound like I don't care, but how does this concern me? It's not like I'm to blame for them not being able to pay attention in class." At that moment, Eli walked out from behind her desk and started to walk towards Umi. As she did, Umi felt that there was something strange going on and questioned her further.

"What are you doing?"

"Unfortunately, you are to blame since you're so beautiful." Umi's eyes widened. "So I think the real question is: How about you spend your time with me?" She couldn't believe what she was saying.

"What… Who are… I don't understand what is happening."

"Just let it happen." Eli continued to walk closer to Umi until she pinned her against the wall. Once Umi knew that there was nowhere to go, she forced to look at Eli. This girl wasn't even acting like a student council president and yet, there was a small part of Umi that kind of enjoyed it. "I think we would make a good couple." Right as Eli started to reach in between her legs, Umi pushed her away and stormed out of the room. As she ran out of the door, she ran into a huge pair of breasts and got knocked to the ground.

"Oh my, how daring of you." When Umi raised her head, she realized that she was all over this girl's breasts. She quickly got off of her and ran away as fast as she could. That's when Eli popped out from inside the room.

"Sonoda-san, please stop…" She was already too late to stop her. Meanwhile, Nozomi pulled herself off the ground and commented on what she just noticed.

"Elicchi, what were you doing?" Her face turned bright red as she turned the other direction.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

As Umi ran away to regain herself, she immediately realized what was happening around her. She didn't know what it was called, but she had a bad feeling about what it was. Honoka, Kotori, that girl with the glasses, that girl from the soccer game, the student council president, and now that other girl were all involved in this interesting predicament. The word she was thinking of just couldn't come to mind. The only thing that could come to mind was one comment.

"What more could possibly happen to me?"

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 3

These Feelings

 **Note:** The harem is almost complete. Sorry about taking my time setting up the characters. As you should already know, I'm trying to make this a good, bearable harem instead of the annoying stuff we always watch as guilty pleasure. So be prepared for different takes on the harem universe as well as other things. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the update and long love Umi.

Club week was in full swing and Umi was torn. She couldn't decide if she should stick with the archery club or try another club or two. Umi had the ability to manage more than one club so the only question was which one she should pick. Another sport was out of the question since she already had that accident with that girl from the soccer, and she still feels about it. Student council is completely out of the question since those two girls were a little strange to her. There weren't many options left. Thankfully, today, afternoon classes were cancelled so that the students could get some more time to decide which club to join.

"Umi-chaaan!" She turned around and saw Honoka running right at her. She jumped into her arms and Umi had no choice but to hold onto her as tight as she could. "What are you doing for the rest of the day?"

"Well, I was going to try to find another club that I could join."

"Really? Aren't you already doing the archery club?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I have to only do that one. If you're independent enough, you can do multiple clubs without having any problems."

"I guess that's true. I'm just too lazy to do a club." Umi sighed.

"Honoka, you really should do a club. Too much free time isn't always a good thing."

"True, but not having enough free time is also not a good thing. And yes, I am talking to you Sonoda Umi."

"Don't give me that. I know how to manage my time. When was the last time I didn't have any time for whatever I needed to do?" Honoka had to ponder the thought, but as she did, nothing came to mind. All that popped up was the image of Umi being the perfect student. This wasn't even an exaggeration. Umi was the perfect student. All of the girls at the school secretly admired her, both for her looks and her talents.

"Okay, you got me there."

"Exactly."

"Umi-chaaaan!" Another familiar voice came from behind her, but only this time, she wasn't fast enough to intercept her. Kotori jumped onto her back and nearly tackled her to the ground. "Whatcha doing?"

"Kotori, why did you jump on me?"

"Because it's club time. Let's go find something to be in together."

"Sorry Kotori-chan, but I got here first so Umi and I are going to do something together. Maybe next time, don't slack off." Honoka and Kotori immediately bashed foreheads.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that you're just too slow when it comes to certain things."

"Oh yeah, well…" Umi stuck her hands in between their heads and pushed them in opposite directions, sending their faces into the walls of the hall.

"No arguing. We can all find a club together." Despite their faces being smashed into the wall, they turned around and looked at Umi with shining faces. "I'm guessing you two don't have any objections to that, right?" They shook their heads with huge smiles. "Okay then, let's go club hunting."

"Aye!" Honoka and Kotori jumped onto their feet and pumped their fists into the air.

Once Umi brought order to things, the three of them walked to the club building and started their search. Things were immediately hectic when they got there. Every door was open and every student was calling out to the ones who were passing by, trying to get them to join. They used all sorts of techniques. Food, presents, and other types of propaganda were used in such creative ways that it made Umi think about how she got into the archery club in the first place. Unfortunately, it wasn't anything special. They were simply dressed in their uniforms and Umi immediately fell in love with it. Umi liked more of the simpler things and because of it, the archery team is one of the most successful clubs in the school.

"So do you guys see anything interesting?"

"Nope. I won't see anything until Umi-chan finds something interesting." She sighed again.

"You know, the whole "together" thing was just a suggestion. I think it would be best if you guys did something on your own. You'd be able to make more friends instead always coming to me."

"But Umi-chan…" The two of them snuggled into her sides. "You're the best club on campus. Admire Umi-chan club is exclusive to two members and we intend to make the best of it." Her face suddenly went red. She couldn't call on her strong side for this since they were ambushing her instead of attacking each other.

"You guys, you're j-just…" Her mind was starting to blank as the two of them smothered her even more. "Someone save me," she whispered.

"Hey, you look like you're a bread lover." At that moment, Honoka turned around as if she was turned into a zombie at the sound of that word.

"Did you just say bread?"

"I did. If you join our club, you'll get tons of bread every day for free." Her mouth started to water. Meanwhile, that other girl knew her strategy worked perfectly. She opened up the door and Honoka walked in without saying anything else.

"G-Good luck Honoka." She was still a little weak since Kotori was still clinging to her arm, but thankfully, another savior was in sight.

"Do you like cute outfits?" Kotori responded the same way Honoka did when she heard the word bread. Kotori's eyes glowed and her mouth suddenly opened. "We make all sorts of cute outfits, and then we exchange them with each other to make them even cuter. What do you say? You interested?" Kotori didn't respond. She just followed the girl into their club room.

"Thank goodness." She was saved. She continued to walk through the halls, but nothing seemed to catch her eye. That's when she had the thought that maybe archery club was the only club for her.

As she reached the end of the club tour, there was one room that no one around it. She peeked in through the window and saw a piano inside of it. She looked around everything else and realized that it was a music room. Umi always had a love for music. She just never could do it for some weird reason. She checked the door and noticed that it was unlocked. As sneakily as she could, she walked inside and admired everything inside of it. None of it made any sense, but just being in a musical atmosphere made her feel at peace. The only thing that could make it better was if someone was playing the piano for her. At that moment, the door slid open and Umi turned around to see a small girl with red hair walk in. She didn't even notice Umi until she said something.

"Hi, are you in the music cub?" The girl suddenly tripped over her feet and dropped all of the paper that was in her hand.

"Hyah!" They flew everywhere until they slowly floated to the ground.

"Oh man, I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you." Umi knelt down in front of her and helped pick up the pieces of paper. As she did, she noticed that it was all music. They all had titles, but none of them were titles that she recognized. "Hey, are these originals?" The girl suddenly grabbed the sheet music from Umi's hands and walked over to the piano where she placed music on the stand and sat down. "Are you going to play?" She opened the lid and placed her hand over the keys. "Would you mind if I listen for a bit?"

"No. Get out!" Out of nowhere, she got up from her chair and walked towards Umi.

"What? Why?" Without responding, she spun Umi around and pushed her towards the door. Once she was out, she slammed the door in her face and locked it. She then walked back to the piano and play middle.

"La." She matched the pitch perfectly and knew that she was ready to sing. However, before she started to play, she turned her head and looked at the door. She then got up once again and quietly walked over to it. She slid the open just a tad and saw Umi still standing there.

"That was beautiful. Can I…" Boom! She slammed it again, but this time, Umi could hear a bunch of rustling coming from inside. The next thing she knew, that girl stormed out of the room with her things. As she left in a hurry, one piece of paper fell to the ground without her noticing. Umi walked over and picked it up. When she looked up, that girl was already gone. She then looked at the paper and saw the title.

"Aishiteru Banzai. I don't think I've ever heard of this song before."

End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 4

Kindness

 **Note:** Well, the harem is now complete with this update. From here on out, the rollercoaster ride begins. I hope you all are enjoying the story and I hope you all come back to read more about Umi's interesting adventure with these lovely ladies.

Umi was still a little confused as to what just happened. That girl was all over the place and in the end, she just ended up leaving without saying anything to her. That made Umi a little sad since she was kind of in the mood to hear some music. Unfortunately, that would have to wait for another time. She turned the other way and made her way to the end of the club hall when a loud voice caught her attention. She turned the corner and saw a lone girl handing out fliers. She didn't know what it was for so she decided to see what all the fuss was about. The girl turned her head and immediately spotted Umi. She ran towards her and stuck a flier in her face.

"You look like you're a fan of music."

"I guess you can say that. What is this for?"

"My club is having a little concert later today and it would mean the world if you would come and support us."

"Oh really? What kind of music are you guys performing?"

"Um, some of it is original and the other stuff is from other idol groups."

"Idol groups? Isn't that kind of a big deal right now?"

"Yeah, I guess you can say. We're just trying it out to see if we like it. If this becomes successful, we might be able to get a shot at the big time."

"Wow, then I guess I'll check it out." At that moment, the girl's face lit up.

"Really? Thank you so much. I'm sure you'll love it. The concert starts at four so be sure to get there on time as I'm sure seating will be a hassle."

"Got it. I'll be sure to get there extra early so I get a good seat." The girl smiled and ran off to hand out some more fliers. For some reason, that little encounter with her really brightened up her day. Unfortunately, when she looked at the time, she immediately returned to her normal mode. Archery practice was about to start and she wasn't even dressed. She quickly made her way through the building and to the dojo, just in time for warm-ups.

When she arrived, all of her teammates couldn't help but comment on her tardiness. Umi wasn't the kind of person to be late to scheduled events so this took them all by surprise. The only thing she could say about it was that the clubs this year were very persuasive. Once everyone calmed down and Umi unpacked her things, practice began.

They started off with some basic stretching and then immediately got down to business. Archery practice was pretty straight forward. Shoot arrows and that was it. Sometimes, they would have competitions to see who improved the most and Umi was always the one to oversee these since she was the best archer on the team. However, all of the girls put it to a vote that Umi would a little showcase for them. She couldn't say no since they all decided together so she stepped up to the line and did the most creative things she could think of.

For her first act, she made a small heart inside the yellow region of the target and this got everyone clapping and cheering her name. After that, she decided to racket up the difficulty. She started at one of the targets and continually walked down the line, hitting the bull's eye on every single target. That's when her teammates started to go crazy. They knew she was a perfect shot, but seeing it in real life was just something else. For her final act, she decided to stick to one target. She hit the bull's eye which was not anything special at this point. That's when she pulled out another arrow and aimed right at the arrow from before. By some act of God, her arrow sliced through the previous one, nailing the bull's eye yet again.

"Wow!"

"Oh my God, you're incredible, Umi-san!"

"We are blessed to be a part of your team!" All of these comments were making her uncomfortable since she wasn't used to being praised by some many people at one time. She simply smiled and thanked everyone for their kindness.

For the rest of practice, they did all sorts of random things. Umi shot her fair share for the day so she just cleaned up things in the storage area. Once practice was over, everyone said their goodbyes and made their way out of the dojo. It wasn't her responsibility, but she decided to stay behind and clean up any left-behinds from her teammates. Once everything was clean, she grabbed her things and locked up. As she looked at the time, she suddenly realized that she was late. It was already 4:00. She had to get going or else she wasn't going to make it to that concert. She immediately booked as fast as she could to the auditorium, but when she got there, it was completely empty. The only other person who was there was that girl who was handing out fliers. She was in a cute, idol dress waiting for anyone to show up.

"W-What happened? I thought you said this place would be packed." At that moment, the girl collapsed onto her butt and started crying.

"I knew this wouldn't work!" Umi knew something was wrong so she dropped her things and jumped onto the stage.

"What are you talking about?"

"I knew no one would show up."

"But you sounded so confident when you were persuading me."

"That's because I had to. I've done this thing every year and no one shows up. For some reason, I thought this year would be different." She wiped her eyes as the tears continued to escape.

"I mean, it was different. You got me to show up." At that moment, she looked up at Umi who was smiling down at her. "Now, I don't know if you're able to go on, but I've been really in the mood for some music today. Would you do me the honors of performing your songs for me?" The girl wiped away her last bit of tears and muscled out a smile.

"Okay." Umi stood up and extended her hand to her. She took and returned to her feet. At that moment, she suddenly felt a rush of energy flow through her body. She couldn't explain, but she did know that it felt good.

"Let me go get the best seat in the house." Umi jumped down from the stage and grabbed the center seat in the front row. That's when the girls went backstage and set the mood. The lights started to dim as one spotlight shined down on center stage. The show was about to begin.

Since it was only her by herself, Umi wasn't expecting much, but she immediately surprised by the amount of planning of hard work that this girl put into it. Her singing and dancing were very good and it looked as though she had been doing this sort of thing for years. She had a constant smile on her face and her eyes never left Umi. She was finally getting the chance to perform in front of someone who would actually listen to her so she wasn't going to blow this opportunity at stardom. Once her set was finished, Umi got on her feet and gave the girl a standing ovation. She then bowed with heavy breaths.

"Thank you so much… I actually don't even know your name."

"Sonoda Umi. That was wonderful." The girl's heart nearly jumped out of her chest when she heard those words. Tears were starting to develop, but she used every bit of strength within her not to show it.

"I am Yazawa Nico and I am this world's number one idol. From here on out, my mission to steal your heart and make it mine. Nico Nico Ni!" This girl had such an interesting aura that Umi just couldn't describe. The only thing she could think of was that she was different… Very, very different from everyone else at this school.

Just outside the auditorium, the girl from the music room peeked her head to see that blue-haired girl giving that black-haired girl all of her attention. She suddenly tightened her fist and ran away as fast as she could. Once she was out of sight and by herself, she uttered a few words that hurt her heart.

"That moment was supposed to mine. Why didn't I let that girl listen to me play? I'm such an idiot."

End of Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 5

Jealousy

 **Note:** I'm so sorry for not uploading yesterday. I went home for the holiday weekend and didn't get back till late last night. Aside from that I hope you all had a safe, wonderful Thanksgiving. Here's the update and I hope the wait was somewhat worth it.

That night, Umi had to rest up since a lot of things had happened. She met many new people with all different kinds of personalities: The student council president, that shy girl in the hall, the girl from the soccer game, the president's assistant, the girl from the music room, the girl from the concert. She couldn't believe that she met all of these people. Unfortunately, she didn't really have great encounters with all of them. She was wondering what was up with the student council president. A girl of her stature wouldn't have acted like that so it kind of made her wonder what was up. The girl from the music room was also pretty strange. She acted out like Umi was harassing her even though she wasn't. However, that was as much thought as she needed to put in. She turned in for the night and prepared herself for another day of school.

When morning came around, Umi was glad to find that she was alone in her room. Kotori didn't, somehow, make into her house without her knowing. She quickly got ready and headed out the door. However, that was when things changed drastically. As Umi opened the front door, Kotori jumped at her and stole a kiss from Umi's lips. Umi was so surprised that she pushed her back in an instant.

"Kotori, what was that for?"

"What? I didn't get to see you after the clubs had their time during the school day."

"But you can't just kiss me like that."

"Why not? We're close enough. It's not weird or anything." Umi was about to retort Kotori's last comment, but she suddenly saw Honoka standing behind them with a shocked look on her face.

"Umi-chan… What? Why?"

"Honoka, it's not what it looks…" Honoka suddenly ran off on her own. Umi reached out her hand, but it was already too late. "Look what happened. We need to go catch up with her or else we'll be late." Umi passed Kotori and ran to school.

Kotori managed to catch up with her, but the entire time they ran, Kotori was completely silent. She couldn't think of anything to say. She knew she crossed the line and yet, there was nothing she could say. Umi was already a little ticked off because she did that. Now that Honoka witnessed that and ran off, it only made things words. When they got to school, Umi ran through the entrance shouting out Honoka's name, but there was no response. She looked around with such eagerness and ran to each other halls, but could not any sign of Honoka.

"Honoka!" Umi turned around and immediately turned around and ran into someone. "Oh sorry, I… Wait, you're the one from yesterday."

"Oh, yeah, I am. Sorry for running into you again."

"No, it's my fault. I'm still not paying attention to where I'm walking."

"You seem kind of busy. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just that I'm trying to find one of my friends."

"Oh really? What's her name? What does she look like?" Umi provided the information to her and she gladly decided to help her. Umi thanked her for her help and continued her search. As she wandered around, she ran into Rin and Nico and decided to ask for their help as well. They decided to help as well which made the search go by a lot smoother.

On the other hand, Kotori was sulking to herself in the bathroom. Umi was spending all of this time trying to find Honoka when she could spend time with her. That's when she started to have some interesting thoughts. Would Umi do the same thing if she ran off on her own? Umi has always cared about her friends so of course she would try to find her. Even though this was probably true, Kotori couldn't help but feel like she was lost. Her actions today definitely did something to their relationship. She was just afraid that Umi was really mad at her. When it happened, Umi didn't say that much, but Umi has never been one to express her full amount of feelings. Kotori just sat there in hopes that Umi finds Honoka and that nothing was wrong with any of them.

After some time, one by one came up to Umi telling her where Honoka was. Umi quickly ran to that spot where she was located and found her sitting all by herself with her head drooped over her shoulders. She was on the roof with no one around her or anything. Umi took a deep breath and walked over to her. Meanwhile, the other three girls had their eyes peeked through the crack in the door to see what was happening.

"Hi Honoka, I've been looking for you all day." She suddenly raised her head and looked at her.

"Is that why there have been people opening and closing that door so often today? I was wondering why that was. The roof isn't a very popular spot to hang out."

"Honoka, why are you up here all by yourself?" She dropped her head again.

"You and Kotori-chan are going out, aren't you?" Umi's face turned red out of nowhere.

"W-What?! W-Where did you here that from?"

"It's obvious. She's always with you and when I saw that kiss, I thought it was official. At that point, I just knew that it was best not to get in between the two of you." Umi sighed and took a seat next to her.

"Don't think like that," she said as she karate chopped Honoka's head.

"Ow." Honoka turned her head and saw Umi looking straight ahead with the most serious face in the world.

"You should know that Kotori is very affectionate. You should also know that I'm not the most affectionate person in the world so I can kind of understand why you would think that we were dating. We're not though. I've never been into that kind of thing. I hope that clears things up. You don't have to feel like you're bothering us or anything. Okay?" Umi turned her head and smiled at her. At that moment, Honoka could literally feel her warmth irradiate from her body. Umi's smiles were always so beautiful and so comforting that Honoka immediately cheered up.

"Hey, don't push."

"I'm trying to see."

"The number one idol always gets the best seat in the house."

"Hyah!" At that moment, the three of them fell through the door and landed on top of each other right in front of Umi and Honoka.

"Um, who are you guys?"

"They're some people I've met who were nice enough to help me find you."

"Why did you have to go through that much trouble to find you?"

"Because. You're a big part of my life, Honoka. I can't just let things slip away just because of something as small as this happened. You three, thank you so much for helping me." Simultaneously, their hearts skipped a beat when they heard Umi say those words to them. Just outside the door, Kotori head the whole thing, but didn't feel that skip in heart like the others did. There was only one feeling for this situation and she didn't like it. She ran off in silence while the five girls got to know each other a little more.

…

Back in the student council office, Eli dismissed her staff for the day. Nozomi was doing some paperwork while Eli walked over to the window and stared out into space. Nozomi noticed this strange behavior and couldn't help but comment on it.

"What's wrong Elicchi?"

"I don't really know." She had her hand on her chest.

"Are you thinking about what happened the other day?" She didn't respond. "By the way, what did happen while I was away?" Eli's face suddenly went red as she turned to Nozomi and slammed her hands on the table.

"Nothing happened. Why do you keep insisting that something happened?"

"I don't know. Maybe because you always react that way. It's obvious that something did happen. Do you finally have feelings for someone?"

"That's it." Eli suddenly walked over to her things and opened the door. "You can finish the work by yourself."

"Okay, have fun being flustered." Nozomi was teasing her so much that Eli didn't even say bye. She just stormed off in frustration. It wasn't until she ran into someone when she realized what she was doing.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Let me help you." Papers were floating all over the place and when Eli picked them up off the floor, she noticed that they were sheets of music. They all had titles, but the strange thing was that they all kind of had a revolving topic to them.

 _You Found Me. Where Have You Been? For You. Can This Really Be a Thing?_

Right as Eli grasped what these all meant, the girl grabbed the music from her hands and walked off without a word. Eli watched the girl leave and tried to sorry, but knew that that girl wasn't in the mood to hear her words. She picked herself off the floor as something popped up in her head.

"What is going on at this school?

End of Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 6

The Mystery Girl

After that day, Kotori really restrained herself around Umi. This only made Honoka step up her game. She used her hopeless girl tactic to bait Umi to come her way. Umi wasn't stupid though. She saw right through this and eventually punished her with a chop to the head. Kotori was still thinking about what she did and how much she "crossed the line." They've known each other for so long, all three of them, so a kiss shouldn't be too weird, according to Kotori. The other two had completely different opinions on the matter and Kotori just didn't want to talk about it anymore since she caused Umi a lot of trouble.

When they were at school, things were as hectic as could be. Umi was getting attention from all of her new friends that's made. All of them greet her with big smiles and Umi greets them back. This was where she was a little clueless. She had no idea that for some reason, they were attracted to her. Whenever they could, they always sought her out and stayed by her side. As this happened, Umi couldn't help like there was someone watching her, but there was never anyone there besides from her group of friends. Maybe it was just her imagination when in reality, that girl from the music room was watching her the entire time.

After lunch, they all returned to their classrooms. When Umi sat down at her desk, she reached for her books and immediately found a piece of paper. She didn't know what it was, but decided to keep it low key. She looked around to make sure that neither Honoka nor Kotori were looking at her. Once that was clear, she quickly pulled it out and read the contents of the note.

 _Come to the music room after school today. Please come alone._

Her eyes widened as she quickly stashed it away in her bag. Immediately after that, a thought came to her head. Was it that girl from the other day; the one who seemed to hate her? If it was, Umi was determined to set things right. She didn't really do anything wrong. She just wanted to smooth their little encounter over so there's no misunderstandings between them.

So for the rest of the day, Umi just thinking about that. She managed to get through her classes easily. It was just that she was thinking about that girl more. She wanted to know why she acted like that. She wanted to know if she, herself, actually did something to make her act in that way. Umi always liked to be on people's good sides so this was definitely something she couldn't let go. Once when classes came to an end, she did her usual walk out with Honoka and Kotori, but told them that she forgot something in her desk. Surprisingly, they didn't chase after. Now, all that was left was to go to the music room to see what would happen between the two of them.

When she arrived, she opened the door and immediately saw that no one was inside. She looked around, but it was completely empty. This was the place she was supposed to meet her so she stepped inside and put her things down. There wasn't any harm in waiting a few minutes.

She walked around the room and got herself reacquainted with everything since she was here just a day ago. Everything in that room looked so comfortable and so inviting. The atmosphere of music was circulating in the air and Umi was falling more in love with it by the second. Eventually, that air led her to the piano where she opened it up to see something from another world. The keys looked as though they were polished every day. There was no dust whatsoever which only made it more inviting. Umi looked around and the room and at the door window, but no one was there so she took a seat and raised her hands on the level of the keys. She gently pressed one key and that sound was incredibly warm and soft.

"Wow, I don't know why, but I just love it here." She continued to play more notes until she became completely lost in the sound of musical notes. It wasn't until the door slid open when Umi snapped out of her trance. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just… Wait, you're the one from yesterday. Didn't you say you would meet me here after school?"

The other girl was completely silent. She just looked at Umi's position in the room with shock. Her face suddenly got redder and redder until she charged at her and pushed her of the seat.

"What are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry. I just really love music and hearing this beautiful sound was irresistible." Umi's words managed to put an entirely different look on the girl's face.

"Y-You do?"

"Of course. Music is such a special thing. I just wish I knew more about it." The girl gulped incredibly loud and tightened her fists.

"I, um… I asked you to come here because I, uh… I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?"

"I was really mean to you and you didn't deserve."

"No, no. It's totally fine. It's my fault for barging in and asking such a rude thing of you. You had every right to act in that manner. I'm the one who should be apologizing." At that moment, she bent over and bowed to the other girl. It was silent for a few seconds as both of them were kind of stuck on what to do next. Eventually, the other girl spoke up.

"I guess we're both sorry."

Umi stood back up and smiled.

"I like that." Umi's smile was so radiant and so sweet that the girl was forced to turn her head in embarrassment. She didn't know what was going on inside of her, but she did know that she was feeling incredibly flustered.

"I… I have a really selfish request to ask of you."

"What is that?"

"I have this recital coming up and I've been kind of nervous about it." She stopped and started to fumble around with her fingers. "W-Would you be so kind as to listen to me play it?" She shamefully looked at Umi who had a glowing face. This was what she wanted last time, but didn't get so of course she said yes. The girl quickly pulled up a chair next to the piano and got ready.

"So what are you playing?"

"Um, just some classical stuff. It's a recital so it's kind of required."

"Oh, I love classical. It's very soothing." That comment eased the burden on her shoulders. Normally, she would never dare playing in front of someone unless it was for some kind of recital. However, she felt different this time. It was a feeling that might get her through this a lot easier.

"Well, here I go."

Her hands violently struck the piano and Umi was hit with a wall of sound. It was furious, and yet, totally controlled at the same time. Umi watched her hands move which was quite a show. Her fingers were moving at the speed of light and her arms were flowing like she was painting a picture. Everything about this performance was phenomenal. However, it was only getting starting. After some time of playing, she opened her mouth and the most beautiful voice entered the fray. It was warm, fluffy and very mature. That's when Umi looked at the sheet of music. She didn't see any lyrics on it so for the rest of the ride, it felt like she was blindfolded. Her voice and the sound of the piano clashed with such force that it was unbelievable to hear. It wasn't bad though. It was almost like a new creation in and of itself. More time went by and she eventually finished the song. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She then looked back at Umi who was star struck.

"Wow, you're amazing… Really, you are."

Her face suddenly turned red as turned away once more.

"No, I'm not. That was nothing compared to some of the other people I've heard."

"Who cares? What I just heard was art in its finest form." Umi's words were so enticing that the girl turned her head to look her straight in the eye. "I don't know a lot about music, but that was something else. And the way you're voice blended with the piano… Ugh! Brilliant."

"Actually… I just do that to calm myself down," she said as she tried to hide a smile.

"Really? Are you going to do that for your recital then?"

"I can't. It's only instrumental, no voice."

"Aw. Well, I thoroughly enjoyed. Very good," she said as she started to clap. "Gosh, I wish I knew how to play the piano."

"Would you like me to teach you?" Out of nowhere, she grabbed Umi's hands and was about a couple of inches from her face. Umi didn't really know how to react to this change of character, but since she was offering, she couldn't really turn her down.

"Sure, I'd love that."

For the rest of the day, the two of them spent their time in the music room. They shared the same seat in front of the piano as the girl slowly taught her the basics to piano. She showed her hand technique as well as note position. This hard for Umi since archery was nowhere close to this type of discipline. The girl helped her by showing how her hands were and then holding Umi's hands in place. However, this was where things got interesting. Both of them started to get a little hot as their hands touched and their bodies got closer. Eventually, it got to the point where neither of them could concentrate. The girl eventually stood up and grabbed her things, attempting to leave once more.

"Wait, I don't even know your name."

"M-Maki. Nishikino Maki." Without another word, she stormed off.

"Maki-chan… Thank you."

End of Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 7

Constant Occurrences

The next day started out like any other day. Umi got to school and started with her classes. For her, it's been a while since she's been able to concentrate in class and she was finally able to do so. That awkward air between her and Maki was finally cleared up so that made her feel a lot better about herself. Also, Kotori was feeling a little bit better too so getting back into class was a breeze.

Once morning classes were over, Umi decided to head out for a bit. However, right as she left the classroom, she ran into someone and the two of them fell to the ground.

"Oh man, I'm sorry. I… Why do I only do this with you?"

"Um, I… I don't really know."

"I'm really sorry. I don't think I can say it enough to you."

"It's okay, but… Did you happen to see my glasses? I think they fell off when we…" At that moment, she stopped midsentence as her hands scanned the floor and came across some broken glass. "Oh no."

Her glasses were broken and Umi knew that this was mostly her fault.

"Oh my goodness. I… I am so sorry."

"No, it's…"

"I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"They're just glasses. You don't… have to."

"No, I do. You seem disappointed and seeing as though this is my fault, I feel obliged to help you out."

"You don't have to, really."

"No, I want to. After school today, I'll buy you some new glasses."

Hanayo tried to say no, but it was obvious that Umi was not having it. Umi already knew that she made her feel bad so this was the only way to clear things up. Umi picked her off the ground and decided to have lunch with her. Lunch wasn't anything too special since Hanayo wasn't much of a talker, but since she was with Umi, she managed to talk a little bit more. That's when she found out that Umi was actually her senpai. That alone made her change her attitude completely. She grew even more shy than she was already was. When the bell rang to return to class, Hanayo quickly packed up her things and returned to class. Before she disappeared from sight, Umi made sure that they would meet up once school was over.

When school was over, Umi made her way to the entrance gate where she waited for Hanayo. Hanayo was pretty quick to meet up with her and that's when they left to head to her favorite glasses shop. When they got there, Umi was surprised to see how many glasses there were in this one store. Her face showed everything that made Hanayo ask what was up.

"Huh? Oh, I just didn't know that glasses stores had this many glasses."

"Yeah, well, those of us who need glasses like to have a large assortment of choices. I don't know how many times I've changed my style. Now come on, since you got me to come here, you have to help me pick something."

Hanayo guided her around the store and looked at all of the glasses that they were offering. In the beginning, she looked at glasses that matched her previous pair, but as she tried them on, she just didn't like them. She then switched to smaller frames and took a liking to them.

"Umi-senpai, what do you think about these?"

Umi turned around to see her in a cute little pair of glasses.

"Um, those are nice, I guess."

"You don't like it. Okay." She took them off and looked for another pair. As she did that, Umi watched her and noticed something that she couldn't really put her finger on it. "What about these? Or this one? How about this one?" Hanayo was bombarding her with questions that she couldn't really answer. As the questions kept on coming, Umi finally came up with the right thing to say.

"You know, I don't mean to sound like I don't wanna pay for another pair of glasses, but… You looked pretty good without glasses. Is your vision that bad?"

"Um, not really. It's just… Personally, I don't think I look good without glasses."

"No, look here." Umi got beside her and turned her body to look at the mirror. Since Hanayo's vision wasn't that bad, she was able to get a pretty good sense of what she looked like. "See, you look great."

"I mean… I guess so."

"You don't need glasses, and last time I checked, contacts are a lot cheaper anyway."

"You're not wrong, but…"

"Come on. Try it out and I'm sure everyone's gonna think you look great… Because I think you look really cute."

At that moment, Hanayo's face lit up with happiness and embarrassment. This was the first time anyone has ever called her cute and to hear it from this girl, it really meant a lot.

"Wow, thank you. No one's ever called me cute before." Her embarrassment eventually rubbed off onto Umi as her face turned red as well.

"Well, I only said it because it's true. Every girl deserves a compliment like that."

"What about you?" Hanayo suddenly leaned over and picked out the first pair glasses she saw. "What do you look like with glasses?" She gently placed the glasses over her ears and onto her face.

"Come on, don't do that."

"Why not? You look so cute."

Their faces were incredibly close to each other. However, neither of them was complaining about it. They just continued to get closer. Hanayo's hands were on the glasses at first, but then she slowly moved them down onto Umi's cheeks. They were slightly red and very warm. Eventually, Umi's hands rose up to her face and did the same thing. They looked into each other's eyes and suddenly shared their first kiss. It was subtle, but the two of them could feel something special about it. Their hearts were beating out of their chests for a short period of time and then suddenly stopped. When they broke away after running out of breath, they had smiles on their faces. After that, they left store and headed home by themselves.

…

When Hanayo got home, she had some weird thoughts going through her head. She was a little confused about happened between her and Umi, but she did know that she felt good. Those feelings of anxiety and nervousness about Umi were gone. She felt her chest and it was beating like normal even though she was thinking about Umi. It was strange. That kiss was so random and so genuine at the same time and yet, she doesn't feel the same as she used to. The only thing she could do now was wait and see what would happened when she saw Umi again.

…

When Umi got home, she was feeling the same way as Hanayo was. Even though she just kissed that girl out of the blue, there wasn't much thought about it. Yes, it felt good, but that was it. Her heart was beating like it normally would and her mind was completely calm. She couldn't explain why she was feeling this. She did know that there wasn't any feeling in her heart that said that things would be awkward between the two of them.

…

When Umi and Hanayo encountered each other in the hall, something different happened. They didn't run into each other and neither of them was flustered about their little encounter. They just said good morning to each other and moved on with their day.

End of Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 8

The Student Council President

"Why am I here again? I didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh, you may not think it, but you did."

"Uh huh? And would you mind telling me what I did wrong?"

The student council president got up from her seat and walked over to the door. She locked it and had that same look she had on last time. Umi had a sense of déjà vu so she knew how to handle this better.

"I've told you already. You're spending too much time with the other girls. I don't know if you know this, but I'm single and looking for someone to be my lover."

At first, Umi thought she could handle the situation, but when she heard those words, her face turned red and her mind went completely blank.

"L-Lover? Council president, we are at school. Y-You can't talk about things like that."

"Of course I can. We're all alone, right? There's no harm. What do you say? Let's have some quality time together." Eli leaned in closer and this caused Umi to panic. She wanted to know why this girl was being so forward with her. She wanted to know what this was all about.

"President, t-there's obviously something that you want from me. What is it?"

"I've already told you. I want you to be my lover."

"We can't do that. It's wrong, especially at our age."

"Ugh, you're being so difficult." Eli took a step back, turned around, and started to pout to herself. However, it only took a few seconds for her to turn back around and come out with another suggestion. "How about a date then?"

"Huh?"

"Come on, I know you have ears. Let's go on a date."

"A date? Well, I don't really know if…"

"How about this? We go on a date and if you don't enjoy it, you can end it at any time and you won't ever have to talk to me again."

"Well… I, uh… I… I guess we could."

"Awesome. Tomorrow, I'll pick you up. Here's my number. You can send me your address and we'll go from there." Eli escorted her out of the room and immediately closed the door behind her. Meanwhile, Umi was a little shaken up. She didn't know why she got asked on a date and she didn't know why she agreed to do it. There was only one thing left to and that was to go through with it. It wasn't like Eli was a bad person. It was just that Umi wasn't much of a dating girl so this was a little outside of her comfort zone.

…

The next morning, Umi waited in her living room until Eli arrived at her door. When she opened the door, she was immediately introduced to a beautiful, blonde girl standing in front of her. This sight made Umi completely speechless.

"Hi, Umi-chan, you look so cute," she said with a smile.

"Huh? This? No, no. This isn't cute. You're the one who's the cute one."

"Haha, there's no need to be so shy, but I appreciate the compliment. Come on." Eli interlocked her fingers with Umi's as the two of them left her house and headed for town.

Normally, Umi wouldn't be too fond of walking through town, but being with this girl made her feel a lot better. There was just something about her that made it enjoyable. Her bright smile and comforting aura were unlike any other. Eli did most of the talking while Umi was still a little too shy to keep up the conversation. However, she didn't mind at all. Eli was just happy that she was with Umi. Eventually, they pulled off to find something to eat and they took the restaurant by storm… Or at least, Eli did. They took their seats and everyone was staring at her. Umi noticed this, but Eli was completely clueless.

"Hey, Eli-senpai?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't you think this is a little weird?"

"What? Two girls on a date? Of course, everyone does it nowadays."

"No, I meant…"

"Hey babe, you wanna spend the day with me?"

Umi couldn't believe the way this guy was carrying himself, but the stranger thing was that Eli was looking a little nervous.

"Hey, I was asking you a question." The guy bent over and slid her chair out from underneath the table.

"I… Uh…" Eli turned her head and avoided eye contact with him. However, this guy was being very persistent.

"Oh, I see. You're one of those shy girls. Don't worry. I know how to take care of you gentle types."

"Hey, leave her alone."

His attention was finally turned to Umi who was standing up from her chair.

"I wasn't talking to you. Anyway, where were we?" The guy lowered his hand and was about to touch her thigh, but that's when Umi intervened. She leapt across the table and gripped his wrist as tight as she could. "What the…"

At that moment, Umi threw his body over himself and he crashed hard onto the ground. She then twisted his arm around his back, immobilizing him completely.

"Can't you tell she doesn't want whatever you're trying?!"

"You b-…. Guh!"

"I'm sorry. What was that?" Umi tightened her grip and made sure that he was unable to speak another word. "Now, I'm expecting you to apologize and go about your day. Can you do that?" She tightened once again and that's when he nodded his head. That's when she let go of him and carefully watched his movements.

"God, you messed up my arm?"

"Ahem!"

"Ugh! I'm sorry. I won't do it again." He turned around in rage and left the restaurant. Meanwhile, Umi turned her head and stuck out her hand.

"I think we should get out of here as well."

"O-Okay." Eli took her hand and left the restaurant. Instead, Umi took her to a nearby a quick-stop food stand that offered some pretty good food. After that, they walked to a nearby park and decided to stay there for the rest of their time together.

"So what was that all about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What happened at the restaurant?"

"Oh… that. Yeah, I don't really know."

"Well, I mean it makes sense since you're really pretty. I just don't know why he had to go to such lengths to try and talk to you."

"I don't know why either. I was actually really scared."

"Yeah, I could tell. I just found it weird that you didn't act like towards me when I visited you in the student council room. You acted completely different when compared to what happened earlier. Is there something I should know?" Umi looked at Eli and saw that she bowed her head. It appeared as though she wasn't in the mood to talk. "I see. I think we should just end things here. I'll walk you home."

"There's someone I like," Eli interjected suddenly. "I don't know why I asked you out because you're not the person I like."

"I… I see."

"Please don't take that the wrong way. You're a really sweet person… I just don't have the courage to ask the person I like."

"Why is that?"

"I don't know. Whenever I see her, I just lose my breath. It's so weird and so annoying."

"Oh, it's a her?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I can't really give you advice on this since I'm not good with this sort of thing myself, but I do have one suggestion. Try not to be too pushy like you did with me. I was kind of freaked out when you did that."

"Yeah, I don't know why I did that. I guess I just lost control of myself when you were with me."

Umi didn't really know how to answer her.

"Alright, well, it's getting late. My parents are probably going to ask me to do something when I get home so…"

"I'll walk you home."

"You don't have to."

"I want to." Eli stood up from the bench and walked in the direction of Umi's house.

After a while, they arrived at Umi's house. The two of them stood on her doorstep and said their last-minute words.

"So… Today was nice. Thanks for taking me out. It's nice going out every now and then without being the big sister."

"Big sister? What are you talking about?"

"Ah, don't worry about it. Anyway, I'll see you around school."

"Okay. Bye."

Umi turned her head to try and walk inside. Before she could, Eli grabbed her hand and turned her around. That's when their lips met and shared their first kiss. Umi was taken off guard, but immediately melted by her touch. Eli was warm unlike any other, but couldn't believe that she was kissing her. When they ran out of breath, they broke away and looked each other in the eyes. They said nothing, but knew what was happening.

"Yeah… I'll see you at school then."

"Okay bye."

Umi walked into her house and called out to her family. No one was around and that's when she leaned against the door. Her back slid down the door until she landed on her butt. She touched her lips and thought about what was happening to her.

"What is going on? I've kissed two girls in the past few days. Is this normal? Why do I feel like this?"

End of Chapter 8


	9. Chapter 9

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 9

Sad Moments

 **Note:** Sorry for the short chapter. For some reason, this story has been giving me some troubles and that's why my update schedule has been all over the place. I hope you all can understand. I'm still going to continue this story. Just try to be patient with me and I hope you enjoy the update.

"Honoka-chan, have you seen Umi-chan today?"

"No. Usually she's here by now."

"I wonder where she…"

"Alright everyone, let's take our seats." Their homeroom entered the room and started class. "I'm afraid I must inform the class that one of our own is being pulled away from school for a couple days. A family issue has come up which is preventing her from joining us. Let's hope that everything is okay and that'll she be able to join us soon."

At that moment, Honoka and Kotori looked at each other with worried looks. They couldn't believe Umi wasn't coming to school. She wouldn't normally miss so this was obviously something big that they wanted to be a part of.

…

"Umi, you're grandma and grandpa have passed away. Your father and I are leaving for a few days. We want you to stay home."

"But I want to see them."

"I know you do, but we think it's best that you wait before you see them."

"How is this fair? They're my grandparents. I deserve to see them."

"Umi, please just calm down. We need someone to watch over the house and we know that you're very responsible. Please just do this for us."

"But…" Umi dropped her head in sadness. "Alright, fine."

"Thank you sweety. We'll be back soon." Both of her parents kissed her on the forehead and left in silence.

All alone at home, Umi was forced to be in solitude. However, it was difficult for her. She just lost her grandparents and yet, she had to be at home all by herself with nothing to do. She just laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about how crappy this whole thing was. She tried falling back asleep since sleep made it possible for her to forget her problems, but it was just impossible. Her mind was too all over the place for her to fall asleep so she got out of bed and decided to head into town.

Since it was still during school time, everything was pretty chill. The streets had a few people here and there, but they were all going about their day while she was trying to find something to do. She passed by multiple stores and other hangout places, but none of them caught her attention. Eventually, her endless wander brought her to the city shrine. She looked up the long stairwell and decided to try it out. She wasn't very religious, but she thought that this would be the best time.

When she arrived at the shrine grounds, she looked around and saw that no one was there. There was no way it was abandoned since it looked like it was well-maintained. When she looked straight ahead, she saw the shrine building and walked towards it. She stepped up to the altar and took a deep breath.

"I don't really know what I'm doing, but I thought I'd try it out." She gently put her hands together and closed her eyes. "I hope that you can look after my grandparents. The two of them are such great people and I'm just saddened to see them go so soon. Please let them know I love them so much and that I'll never forget about them. If they could watch over me, that would be great. I remember reading about stories how our ancestors can guide us through life so that we don't make wrong mistakes. I don't know if that's true. I just want it to be true." At that moment, Umi grew speechless. She could think of anything else. "I, uh… I guess that's it." She dropped her hands and opened her eyes.

"Oh, a visitor? How lovely."

Umi turned around and saw a young girl in a shrine outfit standing in the middle of the courtyard. Her hair was purple and extremely long.

"Hi. I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but I just needed this, I guess."

"Oh, don't worry. We're always open, even though it may not seem like it."

Umi was silent for a few seconds as the gears in her brain were starting to move.

"Wait a second… Don't you go to my school?"

"I do. You're the one who's captured Eli-chi's attention. I applaud you since that's incredibly hard to do. That girl is always doing things on her own so I'm kind of wondering how you stole her affection."

"Huh? No, no. It's not like that. She just needed to talk to me about something. That's it. I can promise you that."

"Ah, I'm just joking. I'm Nozomi. What's your name?"

"Umi."

"Umi? What a beautiful name."

"Thank you."

After their little introductions, they sat down on the stairs and talked for the rest of the day. Even though Umi was sad, hanging out with this girl was making her feel a little better about the whole thing.

"So you've been working here for how long?"

"Haha. About 6 years."

"Wow, you must love it."

"Yeah, I guess you can say that. I just feel that I have strong ties to places like this. They make me feel really at peace. Almost as if I never have to worry about anything going on in the world."

"Wow, that's really cool. I wish there was a place like that for me."

"But the bad thing is that this shrine is starting to be forgotten. I keep it maintained and cleaned all of the time, but no one ever comes here. I don't know why. I guess the whole religious, believing in things is starting to go out of fashion."

"That's ridiculous. That's part of our culture. Japanese people should always believe in celestial beings since they're the ones who created what we have now."

"That's really sweet, Umi, but… You just can't stop change. It's happening all of the time and things like this place are just becoming less relevant."

"If change is constantly going on, let's change as well."

"What do you mean?"

"We should get people to believe again. We have to remind them about how special these places are. I'm sure if we could do that, this place wouldn't be so deserted."

"You'd really want to do that."

"Of course I would. My family is very old-fashioned so I understand the importance of shrines and other religious places. From now on, we are going to do everything in our power to bring this place back to its original glory. I promise you." Umi grabbed her hand and looked her right in the eye. On the other hand, Nozomi was starting to blush a bit. She couldn't believe that this girl was caring so much about something that didn't really involve her. However, she couldn't just let Umi's promise go to waste. She put a smile on her face and agreed.

The two of them were going to bring about change to this wonderful shrine.

End of Chapter 9


	10. Chapter 10

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 10

Festival

Umi and Nozomi went into the warehouse building of the shrine and started to plan all sorts of things that they could do. Umi, however, was the only one coming up with ideas. Nozomi just couldn't really wrap her head around how willing this girl was to help get this shrine back in business. Unfortunately, their time wasn't very long since Nozomi was only there for a few more minutes.

When they parted ways, Umi immediately got to work. She went back to her house and start to make fliers that could help spread the word about the shrine. The two of them decided that a festival would be the best idea so she made sure to make the prettiest, most appealing fliers she could. Once she was done, she headed into town and posted them all over the place so that everyone could see. The fliers grabbed a lot of people's attention so her plan was working.

During the next day of school, Umi kept herself busy by posting all over the school and talking to her friends about it. Honoka, Kotori, Hanayo, and Eli were all of the people she talked to and they all seemed willing to go. They also agreed to help Umi spread the word about this.

Umi was completely unaware of it, but all of this work was pulling her away from the fact that she had just lost her grandparents. In times like this, keeping busy and not thinking about sad things was the best thing she could.

As she continued to run around the school with fliers, she accidentally ran into Maki and caused the both of them to fall to the ground, dropping all of their things.

"I'm so sorry. I was not paying attention to where I was going. Wait, is this right?"

"No, it's… Umi-senpai," she said with a flustered voice. "No, no. It's my fault. I was the one not paying attention."

"Wow, this feels like déjà vu."

"What does?"

"Nothing. Anyway, Maki-chan, I was actually wanting to talk to you."

"Really?" Her face immediately turned red.

"Yeah. So, this girl and I are trying to revive the local shrine by throwing a festival together. The only way to make this a success is if a lot of people come and see how wonderful this shrine is. And I was wondering if you'd be interested in coming to check it out."

"Me? I mean, I guess. I don't think I have anything."

"If you could come, that would awesome. The more people who come would make it that much better."

"Okay. I will try my best to go."

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I gotta go, but I hope to see you there." Umi waved goodbye and went on her way to her next destination.

Meanwhile, Maki was completely speechless. It's been so long since she's talked with Umi and this time just felt so right. She wanted it to go on forever even though she wasn't too good with her words when Umi talked to her. However, now she had a chance to talk with. She could go to the festival and spend as much time with her possible. For the rest of the day, the two of them could only think about the festival and what it would bring for everyone.

…

When the weekend came, Umi and Nozomi were hard at work decorating the shrine. Umi hung up lights and all sorts of other festival styles things all over the place. Nozomi was working on something else and when Umi found out what it was, she was completely stunned. Nozomi was wearing a special shrine outfit and was working on a special dance to show to everyone who showed up. Umi couldn't help but comment on it, but Nozomi insisted that it wasn't special at all. Once her practice was done, she walked outside and saw all of the decorations that Umi did all by herself.

"Wow, this looks incredible. You did all this?"

"Of course I did. I did kind of come up with this idea so I can't just sit around and do nothing." Umi looked at Nozomi who was so lost in all of the festivities that Umi provided. That's when she saw a smile on her face and a small tear leave her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm wonderful. It's just… Seeing this place so lively makes me feel so good." Nozomi turned to Umi and smile even bigger. "Thank you so much for what you've done. It means so much to me."

"Don't thank me just yet. We have to see how the actual festival goes. Then you can thank me. Deal?"

"Deal." The two of them went back to finishing up the last minute decorations and then headed home to prepare for a big day tomorrow.

…

When the next came around, Umi woke up bright and early and headed to the shrine just to make sure that nothing went wrong. Right as she exited the house, she saw that the whole town was buzzing. People were dressed up and nice and talking about the shrine festival that was being held. That's when she couldn't help but smile. After getting over that, she headed to the shrine and found herself another surprise. Multiple stands were set up that offered numerous festival fun times. The odd thing was that they were all free. People were quickly swarming onto the shrine grounds which only made Umi happier.

"I guess it's time to manage." She headed to the warehouse building to put away her things. After that, she enjoyed the day at the festival.

During the day, all of her friends managed to find her and say hello. They were all really happy that she invited them as well as being able to see her. They were all dressed in yukatas while Umi was in her normal clothes. This was the only thing that made her a little sad. She didn't prepare her own yukata and it was already too late to go back home to change into one. However, that wasn't the point of this festival. It was to liven up this shrine once more.

Things continued to go by smoothly. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Umi made her way through the crowd of people to make sure that everything was going smoothly when she bumped into another one of her friends.

"Maki-chan, you made it."

"Hi Umi-senpai. I guess I was free after all today."

"That's awesome. I'm so glad you're here."

"You are?"

"Of course. The more people, the better."

Umi was unaware of it, but Maki's face dimmed down a bit.

"Maki-chan, you look so cute."

"Umi-senpai, you're too nice…"

"Umi, just Umi. I don't like senpai. It's too weird."

"But you are my…"

"Ah, don't worry about it. Umi's perfectly fine by me. We're friends after all, right?"

"Yeah… Umi-san," she said nervously.

"See. That's better."

"Yeah… Um… Umi-san, I was wondering…"

"I'm so sorry, Maki-chan, but I gotta go. I gotta help prepare for the main event. I'll talk with you later. Bye."

Unable to finish her sentence, Maki was forced to watch her leave once again. She sighed out loud and turned around in the direction of her house.

All that was left was the shrine maiden dance that Nozomi had prepared. The lights turned low and all of the attention was put towards the main shrine building where Nozomi was performing. Immediately, her apparel captivated everyone's eyes. Her beauty and elegance had everyone in awe. It appeared that her plan was working. Umi looked at everyone and could tell that they were enjoying every minute of this festival. She couldn't help but pump her fist to herself. When her performance was done, Umi headed to the back where Nozomi escaped to cool off.

"Nozomi-san, that was incredibly. I was so moved."

"Thank you, Umi-chan. You really made a difference here. I can't thank you enough though."

"It's okay. I wanted to do this."

"I know you did. I just don't really know how to express my gratitude."

"It's fine."

Boom! Crash! The two of them looked up to see fireworks in the sky. Those were completely unplanned, but it still made this seem like an official public gathering. Umi was so captivated by the fireworks that she forgot that she was talking with Nozomi. On the other hand, Nozomi walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek. That's when Umi returned to reality.

"W-What was that for?"

"It was the best thank you I could give you. I think, now, I'm confident enough to express my feelings to the one I love. Thank you once again Umi. You are a wonderful person." Nozomi turned around and headed towards the mass of people, only to disappear from sight.

"You're… You're welcome."

…

As the fireworks continued to brighten the skies, Kotori was all alone amongst the hoard of people. There was only one thought going through her head.

"Umi-chan, I want you to be here with me."

End of Chapter 10


	11. Chapter 11

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 11

Returning the Favor

The festival that Umi and Nozomi setup together was the talk of the town for quite a while. Even some of the students at school were talking about it. Whenever they spotted Umi, they praised her for her hard work and thanked her for showing the shrine. Maintaining the normal Umi act, Umi remained modest and said that it was nothing. No one believed her, but they just decided to go along with it anyway.

Now, school was finishing up so Umi was getting ready to head to archery club when Kotori pulled her over before she could.

"Hey Kotori, what's up?"

"I really wanted to talk to you."

"Well, you know that I don't have a lot of time since I have club practice right now."

"I know. This won't take that long. I just needed to ask you something."

"Okay, what's on your mind?"

"Will you g-…"

"Umi-senpai, we have to get to the clubroom. The president is about to tell us something important."

"Right. I'll be right there." She turned to Kotori and put her hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. We'll continue this later. I gotta go." Umi turned around and dashed off to her club. That's when Kotori bowed her head in sadness.

"Will you go out with me?"

…

Club practice was long as always, but Umi managed to get through since it was something that she actually liked. She packed up her things and thanked everyone for their hard work. Everyone else returned the favor and allowed her to leave. Right as she walked outside, she ran into one of her friends.

"Rin-chan, wow, it seems like it's been so long. How are you?"

"I kind of felt the same way, except for the fact that you invited me to attend the festival the other day."

"I did?" Umi had to think back to when she was asking everyone she could and realized that she did ask Rin. She just didn't spend a lot of time with her request to fully remember that encounter. "Oh, I guess I did, haha. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I actually wanted to ask you something. Because you invited me to the festival and I thoroughly enjoyed, I thought I could return the favor. You see, my uncle is a major sports affiliate. And you know how the World Cup is happening right now?"

"Oh yeah, that is going on."

"Well, he gave me two tickets for the game tomorrow featuring Japan and the United States. I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me."

"Wow, you're asking me. Isn't this kind of a big thing?"

"Yeah, but I knew that you knew a lot about sports so I thought you would be the perfect person to ask."

"Well, I guess if that's your reasoning then I'll join you."

"Really? Sweet. We'll meet at the bus station at 9 in the morning tomorrow. It will take us straight the arena."

"Okay, I will see you tomorrow."

"Bye." Rin waved goodbye as she ran off by herself. Umi waved back to her and headed home.

…

The next morning started out early for Umi. She got ready and looked for her Japan jersey for the soccer team. She knew she had one, but she just didn't remember where it was. Once she found it, she ran to the station as fast as she could to meet up with Rin. When she arrived, she was nearly out of breath, but managed to apologize to Rin about being late.

"It's okay. We can't even leave until the bus driver checks out everyone's things."

"Thank goodness."

The two of them got in line and waited for their things to be checked. Once everything was okay, they got on the bus and headed for Tokyo where the World Cup was taking place.

Tokyo was a pretty rare place for them to go visit since it was their country's capital so they were excited when they saw it come into view. The tall buildings reaching towards the sky blew their minds. Once they made it into the city, their eyes were constantly at working, scanning every little thing that they could. When the arena came into view, they immediately became speechless. They had no idea that the thing look that big. When they exited the bus, they looked straight up to see the building towering over them.

"Wow, this is incredible."

"I know. I had no one idea Japan could do something like this."

"Well, of course we could. We can't host the World Cup without building something this awesome. Come on, let's get inside." Umi grabbed Rin's hand and pulled her inside of the arena.

Once they got inside, they were at a loss for words. The place was huge and had so many people inside. Most of the people were Japan fans with a few US fans. These people were looked at funny, but Umi and Rin were amongst those people. They quickly found their seats and found out that they were incredibly close to the field itself. Once they settled in, they eagerly awaited the start of the game.

Right as the game started, the arena rumbled like a riot. All of the Japan fans were screaming chants simultaneously which made Umi and Rin widen their eyes in amazement. They did their best to join in as well.

Because soccer has a lot of down time for the crowd, this gave Umi and Rin the chance to get to know each other, but Rin was the one who managed most of the conversation.

"So what's going on in your life?"

"I was actually wanting your help, Umi-senpai. There's this girl I've seen around school a lot, but I just haven't had the courage of talking to her."

"What? You're the shy-type? You don't seem that way to me."

"Well, that's because it's you."

"What does that mean?"

"No!" Rin immediately regretted saying it like that. "I didn't mean like that. I just meant that I feel really comfortable when I'm with you."

"Why didn't you say that from the start?"

"I'm sorry. Haha."

"Go! Go!"

The two of them immediately turned their heads back towards the game to see Japan making a run for the goal. The player was all alone on a break away with only one other person right behind him. They started to cheer as loud as they could. Once he was in range of the goal, he took the shot. However, the ball barely missed the upper corner of the goal and headed right for where Umi and Rin were sitting. Umi quickly threw her arms and grabbed the ball out of the air.

"Woo!"

"Nice catch, girl!"

"You lucky butt!" All of the people around them were congratulating her for the catching the ball. Even Rin was in awe of what just happened. She couldn't believe that Umi managed to catch a World Cup soccer ball.

"Oh my gosh, Umi-senpai, you are so lucky."

"I mean, I guess. It's a soccer ball."

"How could you say that? That is a limited edition World Cup soccer. Only once every four years can a person have the chance to catch one. You have got to understand that?"

"Yeah, but…" At that moment, Umi had a thought. She placed the ball in front of Rin's face and gave her a smile. "Actually, here's a good idea. You have it?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, you seem like you really want it."

"But I can't have it. You're the one who caught it."

"Who cares? I want you to have. You're the one who got me into this game so I'll give this to you as a present." Umi placed the ball in Rin's hands and patted her on the head.

"T-Thank you, Umi-senpai."

"No, thank you."

The rest of the game was a close one, but in the end, the United States managed to take the win with one goal whole Japan stayed at zero. Once the game was over, they headed out of the arena and back onto the bus where it took them back to their city. During the trip, Rin couldn't help but stare at her soccer ball with goo goo eyes. It was such a special gift and she was going to cherish this forever.

Once they arrived, they slowly exited the bus. Umi was the first one off so she waited for Rin just on the outside. As Rin made her way down the stairs of the bus, someone bumped her from behind causing her to fall towards Umi.

"Rin!" Umi was there to catch her before she could fall, but the most unexpected thing happened. Umi completely misjudged the trajectory of Rin's body. Their lips ended up meeting as one, but their eyes were both open. As quickly as they could, they broke away with red faces.

"Umi-senpai, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

"It's fine. It's not your fault." A few seconds went by of just awkward silence before Umi turned around and looked at Rin. "Hey, let's head home."

"Okay."

End of Chapter 11


	12. Chapter 12

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 12

Happiness

For the past month or so, things have been very interesting for Umi. To her, it seemed as though as she was doing something crazy almost every day. The good thing about all of it was that she was meeting new people and they all were incredible people. She's met a super smart girl, sporty girl, the student council president, the vice president, a musically talented girl, and a wannabe school idol. Just those alone made her feel like she's met every kind of person that ever existed in the world.

However, not everything was working for her. Her relationship with Honoka and Kotori weren't going too well. They were still friends, but it seemed as though they were seeing less of each other every day. Regardless of those things, life was going on and Umi was trying her best to make sure that the people around her were happy. They all knew that Umi was one of the best girls in the school so that alone put her on a pedestal of fame.

As she was walking through the hall, she saw one of her recent acquaintances standing by herself. She was leaning against the locker as if she was waiting for someone or something. Once Umi made it into her sight, she turned her head and a smile quickly emerged on her face.

"Umi-chan, hi."

"Nico-senpai, how are you?"

"I'm good. I was actually wanting to talk to you."

"Okay, what's up?"

"Well, first off, I wanted to say thank you for being my very first fan at my very first performance. I really meant a lot to me."

"Oh, of course. I really did enjoy it."

"You did? Perfect because this is what I wanted to ask you. I was wondering if you were busy this weekend."

"Um, I don't think so. Why?"

"Well, I am holding a concert in the school auditorium and I really wanted you to be there. After all, you're my number one fan."

"Haha, I guess I am."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to sound big-headed or anything. I meant it as…"

"Nico-senpai, I know what you meant. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to make it. I don't think I have anything and if something does come up, I promise to make room for just that. Does that sound like a deal?"

At that moment, Nico's face lit up with that amazing smile that no one could ever forget. She then ran up to Umi and wrapped her arms around Umi's body.

"Thank you so much. I promise that you're going to love. A lot of people will be there, but I promise that you'll have the most perfect front row seat."

"Alright. I can't wait." After that, the two of them split off in their own directions. Even though it was such a small encounter, they felt like a warming comfort in their chest. It was a little strange since they couldn't understand what it meant, but it just felt good.

…

Once the weekend came around, Umi decided to spend some time in the city. Her parents didn't give her any work to do so she was determined to use this free time to her advantage. As she was walking through town, she immediately saw something that caught her attention. Two people were walking towards her that very familiar. It wasn't until they were right in front of her when Umi finally realized who they were.

"Umi-senpai!"

Umi was immediately surprised by who was standing in front of her.

"Rin-chan, Hanayo-chan, what are you guys doing here?"

"Oh, it's kind of an interesting story, actually, haha."

"Really?" Umi got a closer look and saw another interesting thing. Rin was clinging to Hanayo's arm very closely. It wasn't that it was weird for friends to do this. She just didn't know that the two of them knew each other. "So I take it that you guys are friends?"

"Yeah, that's part of the story. We ran into each other in the hall one day and just decided to talk. We eventually started taking about you and then we were able to talk more about ourselves and things just took off from there."

"Wow, that's really good. I'm happy you guys were able to become friends."

"Yeah… About that… Well, things went so well that we decided to go on a date. That's what we're doing right now. I guess what we're trying to say is… Thank you, Umi-senpai."

"Huh? Why are you thanking me?"

"Well, you helped me open up more to other people. Before I met you, I was very to myself so when we started talking, I realized that talking to other people was actually pretty fun."

"And you reminded me that there are all kinds of people out there. I used to think that I was all about sports, but then you came along and totally put me in a place. Now that I met Kayo-chin, we're able to share our feelings about all kinds of things."

"Wow, I had no idea I did this for you guys."

"Well, you did, and we thank you for everything." At that moment, the two of them got on both sides of her face and kissed her on cheek.

"Thank you Umi-senpai. Anyway, we gotta go. We hope you have a great day."

Umi watched them walk off in complete bewilderment.

…

Nico was sitting in the front row of the auditorium, dwelling on her own sadness. No one came to her concert yet again which was making her question whether this life was for her. The place was entirely empty with just her and the people she asked to be her stage crew. Unfortunately, after a few minutes, they went up to her and told her that they were going to leave. She couldn't stop them since she asked them to help her, but now that she was alone, she couldn't believe that this was happening.

"What is wrong with me? I thought I could be an idol. Am I doing something wrong?" She looked around for no reason, but as she did, she had images of people screaming her name.

"Nico! Nico!" The crowds were going nuts, but she couldn't be happy about it. She knew that this was just in her head. In reality, she was starting to believe that there was no way that this could ever happen to her.

Boom! At that moment, the front door slammed open and in came Umi.

"I made it! I made it!" She was nearly out of breath, but once she stood up straight, she realized that she was the only one there. "Wait, did I get the time wrong?"

"No, this is the right time. It's just… No one showed up."

Umi walked down the aisle and made her way next to Nico. Her head was leaning over the floor and her face looked very sad.

"But I thought you said that a lot of people were coming. I could have totally asked more people to come and see."

"It's not worth it anymore. You can go home. I'm sorry for making you come out here." Nico stood up and started to walk away, but Umi's hand grabbed hers before she could get away.

"Why are you saying that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I came because I wanted to see you perform. Isn't that enough for you?"

"But I wanted to sing to people all over."

"But weren't you the one who said that all you needed was one fan to keep living your dream? I came to your first performance and I'm still here to see you. I think you're amazing so please don't give up on doing this."

"But…"

At that moment, Umi gripped Nico by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"You said you were going to be the number one idol in the world and I'm going to wait for that day until it comes. And when it does happen, I will be your number one fan. That I can promise. As long as you continue your dream, I'll always be there for you."

"Really?"

"Really. Now, let's get this show on the road because I'm anxious to hear some more of your music."

With a little more words of comfort, Umi managed to get Nico back on the stage to perform her show. Umi took her special seat. Right from the beginning, Umi was captivated. This show was even better than the first one she went to. As she did her show, Nico kept her eyes on Umi and could see that she was genuinely enjoying it. That's when she decided to lay on the charm. All of her points and winks went to her and all Umi could do was smile and laugh.

Once the show was done, Nico leapt down to where Umi was sitting to ask how she did. Of course, Umi gave her all of the praise she deserved. For a solo act, Nico did very well and Umi could see the potential in her talent. Their little conversation even led to Nico asking if Umi wanted to join her in being a school idol, but Umi had to gently let her off easily. She insisted that she wasn't the kind of person to do things like that. Nico understood where she was coming from, but thanked her for coming.

When their conversation came to an end, they said their goodbyes and headed in opposite directions. However, before she could get away, Nico grabbed Umi's hand and turned her back around. That's when Nico stole a kiss from Umi's lips. For Umi, it was like déjà vu. Another kiss from another girl that came out of nowhere. Once their kiss broke, Nico put her hand on Umi's cheek and smiled.

"Thank you so much for being my number one fan. I promise to not let you down."

"Alright. Whenever you have a performance, let me know and I'll be there."

"I will. Nico Nico ni has her very first fan."

End of Chapter 12


	13. Chapter 13

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 13

A-Rise

All of this time, Umi felt as though she was like some kind of celebrity. Everyone wanted to be with her and everyone wanted to talk to her. She didn't even realize it until just now that she was getting all of this attention from so many people. However, things were calming down quite a bit. Hearing about Hanayo and Rin was a little strange, but they looked happy to her so there was no reason for her to complain about it. She somehow brought them together.

Another thing that took her by surprise was Eli and Nozomi. She didn't see a lot of Eli since she was the student council president, but she did pass by Nozomi a few times. The first time it happened, Nozomi explained the whole thing. She said how she confessed her love to Eli and that Eli accepted it. That's when Umi was able to link it back to when she and Eli went out together. Eli talked about liking someone else, but not having the courage to tell her. Also, Nozomi said that there was someone like that she liked, but didn't know if they knew she even existed. Who would have known the two of them were talking about each other?

With these in play, Umi's life was slowly returning to its normal state of calmness. Occasionally, some of the girls in the school would come up to her and say hi, but there wasn't anything too serious like before. However, that craziness could always be left up to Honoka.

"Uuumi-chaan!" Honoka ran up from behind her and wrapped her arms around her neck like she was about to go for a piggyback ride.

"Honoka, what are you doing?"

"I wanted to ask you something. You know what school idols are, right?"

"I actually do. One of my friends has given me a personal lecture on what they are."

"Really? That's awesome. Well, there's this really popular group in the area that I've been dying to see. They held this competition in the paper a few days ago that said that they would give out tickets to the winner. Now, I knew that I would never actually win, but I decided to try it out anyway. Can you believe that? Kousaka Honoka trying out something? Anyway, the competition was kind of weird, but…"

"Honoka, are you going to get to the point soon or…"

"Oh right, haha. I'm sorry. I was wondering… I ended up winning and they gave me two tickets so I was wondering if you wanted to go with me to watch them."

"School idols? Did you already ask Kotori because I'm pretty sure she would love to watch something like that?"

"Nope. You're the only one on my list. I won't watch this with any other person and I really want to watch them."

"So you're pretty much putting me in a corner and if I say no, you'll make me feel guilty about you missing this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity?" Umi looked at Honoka was deep in thought, but that only lasted a few seconds.

"Yep, pretty much."

"Oh jeez. Well, I don't have anything planned this weekend so I guess I can go…"

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Honoka wrapped her arms around Umi's waist and picked her up off the ground.

"H-Honoka. What are you doing?!"

"Umi-chan, you're the best. I love you so much. I can't wait for this weekend."

Ring! The bell rang to get back to class so everyone headed in their respective directions.

Meanwhile, Kotori was watching the whole thing. She didn't really know what they were talking about, but she did not like what she saw. As Umi drew closer to her, she stuck out and intercepted her.

"Hi Umi-chan," she said with a bright smile.

"Hi Kotori."

"I was wondering if you weren't too busy this weekend, we could go out together."

"Um, actually, I just made plans with Honoka. I'm sorry."

"Oh, I see." Kotori's face suddenly turned dark.

"But we can definitely hang out another time. I promise to keep my schedule open as much as possible."

"Really? I promise."

"Okay. I'll forgive you." She suddenly reverted back to her shiny face as she intertwined her fingers with Umi's and walked into class.

When school got out, Kotori insisted that she and Umi walk home together, but Umi told her that she had archery practice so that was quickly thrown out of the window. However, Kotori was persistent. She told Umi that she'd be willing to wait until after her practice. Umi knew where she was coming from, but she didn't want to make her wait for her. As gently as she could, Umi told Kotori that it was best for her to just go straight home without waiting for her. This put Kotori in a sad mood, but she knew that Umi spoke the truth and headed home.

Practice wasn't anything special. Umi was on her game like always up until the very last moment. Once practice was called for the day, Umi packed up her things and headed out. However, there was someone just outside the building waiting for her.

"Maki-chan?"

"Hi Umi-senpai."

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you already be home by now?"

"Yeah, but I decided to practice the piano for a while. When I saw that archery was practicing as well, I thought I could try and meet up with you."

"Oh okay. How's the piano going?"

"It's going good. I actually had something I wanted to ask you."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Well, I have this piano recital coming up next weekend and I was wondering if you'd be interested in coming to see it."

"A recital? Now, is this like a showcase for a lot of other performers or is this just you?"

"No, it's just me. The reason why I'm asking is because I'm really nervous and I felt that if you came and watched, I'd feel a lot better about it."

"Hm, next weekend? I don't think I have anything planned. Sure, I can come. Would you mind asking me what you'd be playing?"

"Oh, just the classical stuff that piano recitals are made for."

"Right. Well, that sounds really good. I'll be looking forward to it."

"Really? Thank you so much. I'll see you then." Maki waved goodbye to her and ran home. Meanwhile, Umi watched her leave and couldn't help but show a small smile on her face. That girl was so sweet. She was definitely one of those girls that didn't bother her whenever she came up to talk to her. After that little thought, Umi made sure she had her things and headed home for the day.

…

When the weekend came around, Honoka was up and at it. She was so excited to see the school idols that she's been loving for the longest time. Also, she got to see them with Umi so that made things even better. Once she was ready, she headed to Umi's house and the two of the walked into town together.

The school that this group was located in was in the more business district of the city. This already made Honoka feel excited. She's seen the kind of girls who attend this school and she couldn't contain her excitement. However, the concert wasn't until late afternoon so the two of them had some time to kill. That's when Umi decided to eat at some close by restaurant. They quickly got their seats and patiently waited to be served.

"You know, I don't come into the city a lot, but it's always such a unique experience."

"I know. I don't know how I could ever go to school like this."

"Yeah, it is pretty congested when you think about it." A little bit after that, the waiter came over and took their orders. Now, all that was left was to get their food. However, Honoka suddenly changed her mood in a rapid fashion.

"Hey Umi-chan, I need to talk to you."

"Why are you sounding so formal? We're already here. Just say what you want to say."

"Okay." Honoka took a deep breath as if she was about to speak some long speech. "I wanted to say sorry about the way I've acted around you."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"The whole: Me trying to cling to you and do all of those others things to you. I felt really bad. I know it makes you uncomfortable and yet, I did it anyway."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about it. That happened a while ago. It's fine, Honoka."

"No, I had a reason for doing it and I'm really irritated with myself for doing it."

"And that would be?"

"I didn't want to lose to Kotori-chan."

"Lose? What does that mean?"

"You don't know?"

"What do I not know? Honoka, you're being very difficult right now."

"I'm sorry, but… Kotori-chan really likes you."

"Huh? Like as a friend?"

"No. Like, really likes you. Whenever I'm with her, she only ever talks about you. It doesn't even seem like I or anyone else exists when she gets like that."

"So, by you saying that you don't want to lose to her means…"

"I just didn't want to lose to her. I love you Umi-chan, but in the friend way. Kotori-chan is a little different. Please don't tell her I told you this. I just had to get it off of my chest."

"Huh?"

The rest of the time there was silence. They got their food and ate without saying a single thing to each other. Once they were done with their food, they headed to the auditorium and awaited the performance. Right as the show started, Honoka was captivated. The girls were beautiful, incredible, and perfect images of school idols. Umi was having a good time and all, but she was focused mostly on Honoka's reaction. Her eyes never seemed to leave the leader's body. Wherever she went, Honoka followed.

When the show was over, they announced that they were going to hold a little meet-and-greet session with the fans and Honoka wasted no time in trying to be the first one in line. She grabbed Umi's hand and literally dragged her through the hoard of people until she made it to the place where they were holding that session.

When the three idols appeared before them, Honoka suddenly lost her train of thought and went all loopy. She was the first one in line, but was not the first one to speak.

"Hello ladies, I'm Kira Tsubasa. Thank you for coming to see A-Rise perform."

"Oh no, thank you. That was quite a show. I had no idea school idols could be this flashy."

"Haha, we do try our hardest to make it look good."

"Oh right, sorry. I'm Sonoda Umi."

"Nice to meet you. And this is?"

"Honoka, you want to tell her your name?" Umi nudged her with her elbow until she somewhat snapped out of her trance.

"Hehe, I'm Kousaka Honoka. You were really good," she said slowly and with a near-drooling face.

"Thank you. Haha, aren't you the cutest thing?" Tsubasa smiled and poked Honoka's nose. "Anyway, I'm sorry, but we have a lot of people to get to."

"Oh no, thank you for giving us some of your time."

"And thank you for coming to watch us."

"Alright, bye. Honoka, are you going to say bye."

"Hehe…" Her face was still had that drooling look as she weakly waved her hand towards Tsubasa.

"Bye." Tsubasa gave her one last smile that shot an arrow into Honoka's heart.

"I… I think I'm in love." Honoka was completely out of it by the time she finished that sentence. On the other hand, Umi jumped at the sound of that word.

"Love."

End of Chapter 13


	14. Chapter 14

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 14

The Heart Chooses

For the next week of school, things were even calmer than before. The only thing that really happened was Kotori talking to her about that promised day with Umi.

"So, I was thinking that we could go out together on Saturday. How does that sound?"

"I'm sorry Kotori, but I've already made plans for that day. What about Sunday? I'm certain that I have nothing going on that day." She looked at Kotori, but could see the smallest hint of sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I really do want to go out with you. It's just that I had these plans already and I can't bail out now."

"It's fine. I guess Sunday will work."

"Really? Alright, shall I pick you up at your house?"

"No, it's fine. I'll meet you at yours instead."

"Alright. Well, I gotta go. I'll see you then. Bye." She waved to Kotori as she made her way to the school's exit.

Kotori waved back to her, but that wave meant nothing to her. She missed her chance to take Umi for herself. She didn't know who Umi had plans with, but she was determined to find out one way or another.

…

When Saturday came around, Umi got up at her normal time and dressed to impress. She was attending a recital so she had to look good. Once she was ready, she exited her house and made her way to the city's concert hall. Right as she got there, she could see a huge group of people standing outside of the building. Of course, she didn't know any of them so she just tried to blend in. She looked around and could tell that something was going on because all of them were talking about Maki and how special she was. They definitely weren't relatives because they looked nothing like her. She just couldn't put her finger on what all of this meant.

"Umi-senpai!"

She heard her voice from behind and when she turned, she saw Maki running at her in a beautiful red dress.

"Hi Maki-chan. Wow, you look incredible."

"Thank you. My mother insisted that I look extra nice today. But you look very nice yourself."

"Thank you. If you don't mind me asking, is today something special?"

"Our little Maki is being evaluated by prestigious scouts from all over the country."

Umi looked up to see a man and a woman walk up behind Maki. They were obviously her parents. Compared to Maki, they almost a kind of threatening look to them, but she didn't let this affect her. She introduced herself to them with a bow.

"Maki-chan, who is this beautiful young lady?"

"This is my senpai from school. We met in the music room and have been friends ever since."

"I see." Her father took a step forward and examined Umi. "What is your family status, Sonoda-san?"

"My family is a little higher than middle-class, but I don't think I'm the best judge of that. We are very traditional in our ways and constantly try to help as many people as we can. I know it may sound a little weird, but that's just who we are."

"Hm, very good. Sonoda… I feel like I've heard that name before. Anyway, Maki-chan, be sure to stick with this young lady because she seems very responsible."

"She is. Umi-senpai is so cool."

"Maki-chan, you know you don't need the honorific. We know each other, right?"

"I guess so."

"Sonoda-san, there's no need to be generous. Our Maki-chan needs to learn respect even if it needs to be by a school senior."

At that moment, Maki's mother looked at her phone. After that, she gestured Maki to head to the auditorium. Before she got too far, Maki called out to Umi telling that her spot was reserved right next to her parents. Unfortunately, she didn't really know what that meant so she just decided to follow her parents into the auditorium. As she walked through the doors and into the building, she couldn't believe her eyes. The place was huge and quite stunning. Almost everything was made out of wood as to help performers project their sound. She continued to follow Maki's parents until they took their seats in the front row. Before Umi sat down, she got one more look around and was simply lost for words. This place was something else.

"So Sonoda-san, you are a second year?"

"Yes."

"Do you have any plans for college?"

"Well, I've been maintaining my grades as to make my options as open as I possible when I apply. As for what I will study, I'm not too sure yet."

"That's still good. You definitely need to start off early if you want to have chance later on. You're actually one of the only friends Makic-chan's introduced us to that somewhat has a plan. We've been trying to get Maki-chan started on those things, but she loves music."

"There's nothing wrong with that. From what I can tell, she really loves it. Every time I see her, she's always in the music room practicing the piano or is doing something related to the piano."

"Interesting. Last time we checked, she almost never used in the music room or practiced her piano." The conversation suddenly died out as Maki's father turned to his wife and started talking to her.

Only another minute went by before the lights dimmed and out walked Maki. With her long red dress on, it looked as though she glided across the stage. When she reached center stage where the piano was, she took a bow and scanned the crowd. However, there was only one person she cared about seeing and that was Umi. She was right in the front looking right at her. Maki couldn't help but give her a small wave and Umi had to respond back with the same gesture. After that, Maki took her seat and started her recital.

Right as she played her first note, Umi was captivated by what she was listening to. The sound of her piano and the song she was playing were complimenting each other perfectly. However, enjoying the music alone wasn't enough. Umi looked at Maki and could tell that she was truly taken away by the music. Her body was swaying and her eyes were closed. Those things could only mean that she trusted herself enough to let her body do all of the work and this definitely payed off. Umi then looked around calmly and could see the faces of everyone thoroughly enjoying what they were listening to.

The performance lasted about an hour, but for everyone in the audience, it only felt like a couple of minutes. Once the performance was done, everyone filed out of the auditorium and into the courtyard just outside the building. When Umi made it outside, she took a deep breath and smiled.

"Wow. That was something else."

"Umi-senpai!"

Maki's voice came from behind her which made her turn. This time, though, Maki jumped into Umi's arms and hugged her as tight as she could.

"How did I do? Did you like it? I'm sorry if my parents were a little weird, but who cares about that? Did you like it?"

"Haha, that was incredible. I'm honestly at a loss for words."

"I'm glad you liked it. I was afraid you'd think it was stupid or something like that."

"Why would I think that? Didn't I make it obvious that day we met that piano was something that I wish I could play?"

"I guess you did." The two of them smiled at each other. Unfortunately, this moment together only lasted a few more seconds before Maki's parents entered the area yet again.

"That was very good, Maki. I know you're done with this, but there are a lot of people that are asking to talk to you. Sonoda-san, would you mind if we stole Maki away from you?"

"Oh, go ahead. Don't let me stop you from whatever is going on."

"Thank you so much. Come on Maki-chan." Her mother grabbed her hand and started to pull her away.

"Umi-senpai, I'll see you at school okay?! Thank you so much for coming!" By the time she finished talking, she was already out of sight. All Umi could do was wave goodbye. She looked around once more and decided to head home.

Meanwhile, Kotori was watching from afar and saw the whole thing. Now she knew who this other girl was that was stealing Umi away from her. However, she didn't get too discouraged. Tomorrow was her chance to be even better than this. The only problem was that this performance was incredible. She really had to go out of her way to make tomorrow something special for the both of them.

End of Chapter 14


	15. Chapter 15

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 15

A Special Day

It was about 11 in the morning when Umi's doorbell rang. She opened the door and saw Kotori with the biggest smile on her face. That cute bow in her hair and peppy aura she always gave off made her feel like the day was finally starting.

"Good morning Kotori."

"Good morning Umi-chan. Are you ready to go?"

"What are we doing today?"

"It's a surprise. Now come along. We don't want to be late." Kotori grabbed Umi's hand and pulled her along for her special day planned.

Kotori guided her to a nearby bus stop where they boarded the bus and waited for further instructions. When the tour guide walked onto the bus, she briefly explained that they were visiting Mt. Fuji and that's when Umi almost lost her composure. Umi always loved nature things so Kotori definitely hit the bull's eye. When everyone was ready, the bus departed for the national landmark.

During the bus ride, Umi had her eyes glued to the window. She didn't travel outside of the prefecture a lot so seeing all of these new sights was something that didn't want to miss. Meanwhile, Kotori couldn't stop looking at Umi. Her smile was so bright, her face was so beautiful, and just being with her made Kotori feel all warm inside.

When they arrived at the park, they exited the bus and followed the tour guide's lead. Right as the tour started, Kotori intertwined her fingers with Umi's fingers to make sure that the two of them wouldn't be separated. The tour guide explained the mountain in full detail which only made Umi happier. She was learning all sorts of things while actually being in the presence of the mountain. Every so often, the tour guide would pull them aside and let them take pictures. Of course, Kotori didn't waste these opportunities. She immediately pulled out her phone and took as many pictures with Umi as she could.

Eventually, they hit a checkpoint where the tour took a break. However, Kotori still had things planned that were already in motion. She pulled Umi away from the tour and towards the forest area of the tour.

"Wait, what's going on?"

"Umi-chan, there's no way I would bring you here for a lousy tour. You're going to get something even better."

"But I was enjoying what she was saying."

"Don't worry. You'll like my tour even better."

Kotori guided her further away from the tour until the two of them were introduced to an interesting place. There was another trail that they didn't see when they were with the big group. The trail was beautifully maintained with rocks in the ground and a forest-like ceiling to make it look even more elegant.

"Wow. What is this place?"

"You'll see. Come on." She pulled her along once more and the two of them walked through the magical trail.

As they walked through this special place, Umi was captivated by the smallest things. She talked about the details that went into making this trail. She also mentioned how this trail made her feel like it was something out a fairy tale. The sun was right above them, making it possible to the rays of the sun break through the leaves above them. That's when Kotori got a skip in her chest. She wasn't going to tell her about this, but she managed to have all of this specially prepared for them. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes work, but all Kotori cared about was that Umi was enjoying every minute they had together.

At the end of the trail, they came across a cable car that connected to the top of the mountain. Workers were already waiting for them and when they spotted the two girls, they opened the door and invited them in. This was when Umi got a little suspicious. However, Kotori insisted that she didn't know anything about what was going on. The hardest part was trying to hold her smile. Things were going incredibly well for her so she had to do everything in her power to keep it strong until the very end.

Once they were in, they activated the car and slowly transported them to the top.

"So you're sure you have nothing to do with this?"

"Of course not. I'm not this capable of such a thing."

"Don't be so harsh on yourself. You're very capable Kotori. You need to be more confident in yourself," she said with a smile.

That smile alone sent Kotori's heart shooting up even higher than it already was. It was getting harder and harder to contain her feelings as the day continued to go on. The best part hadn't even happened so Kotori forced herself to calm down.

"Gosh, this place is so beautiful."

"Just like you," Kotori said under her breath."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"No, I wanna know. You said something."

"It's stupid."

"No it's not. Kotori, as you can see, we have quite a ways to go before we reach the top so you might as well tell me what you said."

Kotori looked at Umi and could that she had complete control of the conversation. She sighed out loud and dipped her head.

"I said you're the one who's beautiful."

At that moment, even though Kotori couldn't see her since her head was down, Umi's turned red like a cherry.

"No I'm not. Don't say things like that.

"But…" Kotori suddenly held her tongue. She knew she made a mistake. Umi wasn't the romantic type and whenever something like that happened to her, she became flustered and defensive about everything. Now that that was in the air, the two of them simply waited until they reached the top of the mountain.

When they reached the top, the sun was approaching the horizon which meant that it was time to execute the final part of her plan. She took Umi's hand and ran her up to the very top of the mountain, eliminating any awkwardness that was between the two of them. There, a beautiful picnic was already set up for them.

"Surprise!"

"I knew it."

"I know I'm not good at hiding things from you, but I do know that you like picnics with nature all around you so I thought that this would be the best way to spend time together."

"Well, the thought is very sweet, Kotori. Thank you." Umi walked over the blanket and sat down. Once they were set, Kotori pulled out the sandwiches from the basket and started to eat them with Umi.

During their meal, Umi continued to look around and talk about this view was unlike anything she's ever seen. With Umi preoccupied with the view, this allowed Kotori stare at her with even more awe than before. Kotori was 100% sure that this girl was the prettiest girl on the entire planet. She's never met anyone who could even come close to her. However, having that thought in her mind only made her feel worse. She constantly questioned herself to see if she was worthy of being with Umi. That's what this day was meant for.

As the sun started to set, Umi had her eyes glued to the horizon.

"This place is amazing. I wish I could be here every day. It's like all of my worries have been stripped away and I can just enjoy what's going on now."

Kotori knew that it was time to make her move. She crawled right in front of Umi, blocking the view.

"Hey, I was watching the…"

At that moment, Kotori raised her hand to Umi's cheek. This immediately threw Umi off guard. She tried inching back, but her hand slid from the wetness of the grass causing her to fall onto her back. Now, Kotori was right on top of her. The both of them were looking into each other's eyes without saying a single thing.

"Kotori, I…"

"Umi-chan, I love you. I've loved you for the longest time and now I truly want to be yours. Please let me be the person who love and cherish with all of your heart." Kotori gently caressed her cheek and laid a kiss on her lips. At that moment, a wave of heat was sent through both of their bodies. The touch of their lips made them feel weak until they eventually ran out of breath. Kotori pulled away, but kept her eyes on Umi.

"Kotori…" At that moment, Umi pulled her down for another kiss. Kotori didn't fight back. She let Umi have her way. Unfortunately, that second kiss only lasted about another second until Umi snapped and pushed Kotori off of her body.

"Umi-chan?"

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay. You can do anything you want to me."

"Don't say things like that."

Umi's heart was suddenly beating out of her chest. However, it was quite love. It wasn't fear either. It was more like conflict. She didn't know what it meant. All she knew was that things were different now… Good or bad… That was the real question though.

End of Chapter 15


	16. Chapter 16

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 16

Nowhere to Go

Umi was so confused. Nothing was making sense to her. She managed to make Kotori take her back home. The entire trip back home was a silent one. Neither one of them spoke a word, but there were definitely a lot of words being spoken in their heads. When they arrived back in their home town, Umi stormed off in silence without even saying goodbye to Kotori and thanking her for the trip. She had too much on her mind to care about anything else.

For the rest of the weekend, Umi was holed up in her room trying to make sense of the situation she was currently in. Honoka was right about this and yet, she was too afraid to admit it. Kotori was ready to dive into this new relationship and yet, here she was in her room wondering why this was happening to her. What did she do to now have to go through such torment?

…

When the next week of school came around, Umi managed to muster up the strength and leave her room. However, she avoided contact with everyone she knew. She immediately headed to her classroom and quietly sat down at her desk, hoping no one would bother her. Thankfully, people were able to get that something was bothering so they didn't try to pry themselves onto her.

When the lunch bell rang, Umi got out of her chair and left the room. Normally, she would stay and have lunch with Honoka and Kotori, but today was different. She looked for a place that was quiet for her physically and mentally. Most of the rooms were taken until she came across a familiar with no one in it. It was the music room. She checked the door and saw that it was unlocked. As quickly as she could, she went inside and closed the door behind her. After that, she leaned against the door and slid down until her butt made contact with the ground.

"What is going on? Why is this happening? I mean, we're friends. How can she love me?" Umi pressed her hands against her head and closed her eyes. "I just want this to stop." She shook her head until her head started to get dizzy. That's when she opened her eyes again and when she did, something caught her attention.

The piano in the middle of the room was open and ready to be played. She didn't know how to play it, but she knew that music had a way of transporting people to another world; a world without worries. She stood up and slowly walked over to the piano. When she got there, she looked down and saw the beauty of that intricate device. The wood was beautifully polished and the keys looked smooth as could be. That's when she sat down on the bench and gently put her hands on the keys.

At that moment, a rush of freedom was sent through her fingers and into her body. She didn't even play anything and yet, she was able to feel like she was somewhere else. She took a deep breath and looked down at her right thumb. As carefully as she could, she pressed the key down and out jumped a note of beautiful texture.

"Wow, if I only I knew how to actually play this thing."

"Umi-senpai?"

Umi suddenly turned her head and to Maki standing in the doorway with a confused look on her face.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." She suddenly got from the bench. "I know I'm not supposed to touch anything, but I just thought it could help."

"What do you mean?"

"It's… It's nothing. I'm sorry. I'll leave now."

"You don't have to. I am in charge of this room so you're welcome any time. Please, stay a while."

"Okay."

Maki dropped her things and walked over to the piano. She raised the cover to where the inner strings were visible which only made Umi curious.

"Why do you do that?"

"Well… Normally, when you play, you open that and it helps project the sound. I do it because I want the sound to travel. I always feel guilty when I trap the sound. It's a waste to play something and not have anyone hear it."

"I wish I could play."

"Umi-senpai, you seem very capable. Would you like me to teach you?"

"Huh? Oh no, you don't have to go through that kind of trouble."

"No, I want to. You went to my recital and because of you, I was able to get through it easier. It's the least I could do for you."

"Well, I guess it would be a good idea. It might help me out."

"Great." Maki took a seat next to Umi and showed her the basics.

She started off with the hand position. Umi was able to get this since piano and archery were very graceful when it came to hand positions. After that, she explained what each key was and where one should put their hands when beginning to play. This was there Umi started to have some troubles. Maki told her that she only needed to keep her five fingers on five different notes, but Umi just couldn't seem to find where those notes were.

"Is it these ones?"

"No, you have to move your hands two keys up."

"Like this?"

"No, the other up, haha."

"This is way harder than I thought."

"Here. Like this." Maki placed her hands on top of Umi's and put them in the correct place. "This is where they need to be. Got it?"

"I… I think so. Maki-chan, your hands are very warm."

"Eh? D-Don't say things like that." At that moment, she retracted her hands and looked away in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry." Umi couldn't help but look away too. She was also very embarrassed. She didn't want to make the situation any more awkward, but for a piano player's hands, Maki's hands were very soft.

Ring! The lunch bell rang telling everyone to return to class. Umi and Maki stayed where they for a few seconds before even reacting to that sound. Just outside the room, Kotori saw the whole thing and knew that this was the reason Umi was acting weird during the latter part of their date. This girl was the hurdle she had to get over if Umi were to be hers. Before they could see her, she disappeared from sight.

"Well, uh… Thank you for the mini private lesson. I know I didn't learn a lot, but it was really helpful. Thank you, Maki-chan."

"Anything for you, Umi-senpai."

"Can you please stop calling me that? In this room, I think you're more my senpai than I am yours."

"Haha, maybe."

"Well, we should get to class. Maybe we can do some other time."

"Yeah, that would be awesome. I don't get a lot of visitors."

"I'll make sure to come here more often. This room is very comforting. I like it. Bye."

"Bye." Maki watched her walk off. Once she was out of sight, Maki collapsed onto the floor. Her knees were shaking and her heart was beating out of her chest. "How did I manage to get through that? Umi-chan's so cool and so pretty. Why am I so lucky to be in her presence?"

The rest of the day was a blur. Umi didn't really have a lot of motivation to talk to anyone. She just kept to herself until the day was finally over. As she made her way down to the lockers, her teammates asked her if she was attending practice today, but Umi just told them that she wasn't feeling well. This was obviously a lie, but they didn't want to pry into this since Umi has never missed a practice before. Missing one practice won't kill her.

When she got home, she immediately went up to her room and dropped her things. She collapsed onto her bed and then looked up at the ceiling. The house was quiet which made it possible to hear other things. The one thing that was filling up the house was the sound of her heartbeat. It was beating out-of-control and Umi had no idea why that was. Her composure was always good so something like this made her wonder what was going on inside of her.

End of Chapter 16


	17. Chapter 17

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 17

The One Who Belongs

The next couple of days were odd, but it was a consistent odd. Umi spoke to no one except for Maki. The only time she talked to Maki was when they were together during lunch. They spent most of their time playing the piano. During that week, Umi was able to get a better handle on playing piano. She was even able to play a simple five-note scale which is a big achievement. As for their conversations, there was never anything too deep that they talked about, and that was what Umi wanted. She wanted a way to let her mind escape from all of this madness going on around her. Thankfully, Maki was offering that for her, at least for the most part.

"Umi-senpai…"

"Umi-chan. How many times have I told you to call me Umi-chan?"

"I'm sorry. Umi-chan?"

"Yes Maki-chan."

"A-Are you in a r-relationship?"

Umi spat her drink out as if it tasted like dirt.

"Maki-chan, where is this coming from?"

"I'm sorry. I was just curious. Before I noticed that all of the girls in the school said hi to you. I even noticed a lot of them giving you envelopes. Of course, I didn't know what was in them so I can't really comment or speculate. I just… It's very fitting of you."

"What do you mean?"

"You're very pretty and very likeable. It makes sense that everyone wants to be with you."

"D-Don't be ridiculous. I'm not like that at all."

"Well, I'm glad that I get to be with you." Maki's face suddenly turned bright red. Umi saw this and couldn't help but blush as well. "You are very cool and very nice. There aren't a lot of people like that nowadays."

"Thank you Maki-chan. You're also very comforting. There have been a lot of things going on around me that I just can't comprehend. Being with you calms my mind. I really appreciate it."

"I'm glad I can help."

Kotori was watching the entire thing and could see the look on joy on Umi's face. That's when her heart started to ache. For the longest time, Umi always gave her that face, but ever since that kiss, Umi hasn't been the same towards her. Kotori's been trying her hardest to talk to Umi, but Umi has been giving off the impression that she needs her space. Even though this may true, she could still talk to the other girl to try and make something happen. Kotori couldn't let this go on for much longer.

The bell suddenly rang to go back to class. Umi thanked Maki for her comfort and returned to her classroom. On the other hand, Maki was a little on the slow side. She gathered her things and waited until Umi was clearly gone before leaving. She exited the room, closed the door behind her, and then leaned against the door.

"Oh my gosh. Why do I always feel like this after lunch?"

…

When school finished, Umi packed up her things and left. Honoka told Kotori that she had something to do so she left as well. However, this was all part of Kotori's plan. She wanted to be alone because there was something she needed to do. She walked through the hall until she saw that same red-haired girl walk into the music room again. She stood just outside the room and waited. Only a few seconds passed before she started to sing. Her voice was beautiful. Kotori couldn't even deny that fact. Still, she had to do something about what was going on. She slid the door completely open, causing Maki to turn around in fright.

"Hello. Did you want to use this room too?"

"No. I was just looking for you."

"Me? Do I know you?"

"Probably not, but it's okay. I have something I need to tell you."

"Okay."

"I've noticed that you've been hanging out with Umi-chan a lot and I'm here to tell you that that needs to stop."

"Whoa, who are you tell me who I can and cannot hang out with?"

"I can tell you this kind of thing because Umi-chan is my girlfriend."

At that moment, Maki's heart dropped to the floor. Her eyes were wide open as her brain was fully processing what this girl was telling her.

"You're her girlfriend?"

"Of course."

"But…"

"Ah, I see what's going on here. You think Umi-chan cares about you. You think she has feelings for you. Well, before anything bad happens, I think I should tell you that she doesn't care about you. Umi-chan is just the kind of girl that is nice to everyone. In reality, though, she doesn't actually like you or anything. The only person she truly cares about is me."

Maki's head suddenly dropped in shame.

"Oh… I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"You should be. Now, I'll let this whole thing go if you promise to never be with Umi-chan again. Don't talk to her, don't say hi to her, don't even think about her. Umi-chan's too busy thinking about me and I'm too busy thinking about her. Understood?"

"Yeah, I understand."

"I'm glad that we had this talk. Bye." Kotori walked out of the room in a grandeur fashion.

Meanwhile, Honoka managed to catch Kotori leave the room. About a minute went by when she saw another girl walk out. However, this girl looked incredibly sad. She didn't really know who this girl was. The only thing that she could conclude was that she, somehow, was related to Umi. Why else would Kotori be talking to some stranger like that? That's when Honoka came up with an idea. It was shot in the dark, but she went for it. She ran through the school, looking for anyone who has been a part of Umi's life so that included Nico, Eli, Nozomi, Hanayo, and Rin. She managed to grab them all and bring them into an empty classroom. She locked the door and took the helm of the meeting.

"What's going on here?"

"Who are you?"

"I was about to go home. I don't think you…"

"Everybody, let's settle down. I brought you all here because I have an important matter to speak of. Today, we will be talking about our beloved Umi-chan."

At that moment, the whole room went silent at the sound of that name. They all looked at each other with curious looks on their faces before Eli spoke up in question.

"Judging by all of our reactions, we know Umi quite extensively. If I may ask, who are you? I think this will make things go by a lot smoother."

"As expected of our Student Council President. I am Kousaka Honoka, one of Umi-chan's oldest friends. I brought you all here because Umi-chan has impacted all of our lives' in some way. It may be big, it may be small; the point is that there is something going on that I need to converse with other people that know the situation."

"Alright. Enlighten us Kousaka-san."

"Thank you, president. I have come across a couple of things regarding Umi-chan. One: My dear friend Minami Kotori is love with Umi-chan."

The room suddenly gasped.

"Two: I'm pretty sure there is another girl who is in love with Umi-chan and I think this girl is serious about it. The two of them have been spending a lot of time together this past week without a lot of people knowing about it. I don't know her name, but she was sort of small and had short, red hair.

"Nishikino Maki-san."

"President, you are amazing. I applaud you for knowing who I'm talking about."

"So what's the point of telling us this?"

"Well, earlier in the year, I was able to observe Umi-chan from afar and see that she did something special for you guys. Now, I may not be a love expert, but I'm pretty sure Umi-chan managed to find a special place in all of your hearts. It may not be quite substantial, but it's enough to make you care whether she's happy or not. Am I right?" Honoka suddenly stopped and scanned for the reactions.

The 5 girls were definitely talking amongst themselves. Umi did do something special for each of them. She might have opened up their heart, gave them her utmost support, or even brought each other together.

"My main point of us having this meeting is to ask you all this one question. Who do you think Umi-chan should be with: Kotori or Maki?"

The room went silent again. This time, Nozomi stood up in question.

"Do we have the right to choose who Umi-chan should be with?"

"Our Vice President is right. Umi-senpai should be able to choose who makes her happy, ~nya."

"No, no. I'm not saying we'll choose for her. I just want to know who supports who in this because I know for a fact that in the end, Umi's going to have to make a choice. I just feel that it would be good if we all gave her support in whoever she decides to pick."

Nozomi suddenly sat down and started the think. The other four girls started to think about it as well. As for Honoka, she already knew who she thought Umi could be happy with. A few minutes went by until everyone looked like they had made a decision.

"President, I think it's only fitting that you speak first."

"Alright. Well, Nozomi and I believe that Umi-chan should be with Kotori. Umi-chan helped me accept my feelings for someone who I've been with for the longest time."

"Yeah, and she also helped me realize that it's alright to take a chance with my closest friend, and luckily, it worked out."

"Aw!" All of the other girls were looking right at them with smiles on their faces.

"Does anybody else have a decision?"

"Kayo-chin and I believe that Umi-senpai should be with Maki-san. Kayo-chin and I didn't really know Umi-senpai and we definitely didn't know each other. Once we managed to come across each other and hang out, we realized that we were a good match for each other."

"Rin-chan took the words right out of my mouth."

"What about you?" Nico spoke up and looked right at Honoka.

"Me?"

"I'm not talking about anyone else right now."

"Well, even though it would pain me to see Umi-chan be in a relationship because that would change our friendship, I believe she should be with Kotori. They've known each other for so long so that chemistry and trust are there that every relationship should have. What about you?"

"Hm, interesting. I guess my vote splits the field in half. I think Umi-chan should be with Maki-san. I don't have a specific reason like you guys. Umi-chan helped me believe in myself and I just that that would be the most self-honest choice."

"Hm. Thank you guys for doing this. I know I may seem a little strange for just pulling you all into this, but…"

"No. It wasn't very appropriate. Thank you Kousaka-san." The president and all of the other girls stood up and bowed as if they were finished up an official class. After that, they went their separate ways with the intention of finding Umi and asking her how she felt about all of this.

End of Chapter 17


	18. Chapter 18

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 18

Ripples

 **Note:** Hey everyone, here's a last minute boost of confidence for all of you who still have finals to take. As for me, I'm entering finals week so you won't be hearing back from me until I'm done. On the other hand, I'm live on twitch right now. Just search up "bandgeek014" and you'll be able to find me. This next week, I'll be conducting some small test streams just to make sure that everything is working fine. It really make things go by a lot easier if you checked it out. Anyway, thank you everyone for reading and good luck with these last few weeks of school.

The next day, Umi was excited to play some more piano. Every chance she got, she would practice her finger technique as if she was trying to impress Maki even though she was her senpai. The morning went slow, but once lunch came around, Umi ran to the music room and got in some last minute practice. Meanwhile, Kotori was observing Umi's behavior and couldn't believe what was going on in front of her.

To her, it seemed like Umi actually liked this girl. Umi was never one to obsess over certain things, but it was definitely seeming like that for this girl.

Umi practiced and practiced, but eventually realized that Maki wasn't coming. She grew a little sad, but kept an optimistic thought in her head that maybe she was just sick or something and had to skip school. Umi then packed up her things and prepared the rest of her classes. As for her afternoon classes, things went pretty smoothly. School was never hard for her so she was able to get through without any troubles. Once the day was over, Umi packed up her things when Kotori came up to her with a smile on her face.

"Hi Umi-chan."

"Hi Kotori."

"I wanted to tell you something. I, uh… I'm sorry for I did the other day. I don't know what came over me. I was just hoping that you'd be able to forgive me for it."

"Kotori, we're friends after all. I couldn't stay mad at you forever. You don't need to worry about it anymore. Anyway, I gotta go do something."

As Umi left her behind, hearing those words left a bad taste in Kotori's mouth. Friend was the last word she wanted to hear out of Umi's mouth and yet, Umi was saying it so casually to her. Yes, they were friends, but Kotori wanted them to be more than friends.

As Umi made her way through the halls, she eventually made it to the music room. She slid open the door and suddenly saw Maki unpacking her things like she was about to play the piano.

"Maki-chan?"

"Umi-chan?"

"What are you doing? I thought we were going to have our lesson at lunch, but then you didn't show up. Did something happen?"

"Um, not really." At that moment, Maki started to pack up her things.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, it seems like you're about to leave when it looked like you were actually going to play something on the piano. You know, you can always talk to me about whatever is bothering you."

"No, I can't."

"What do you mean…"

"I'm sorry." At that moment, Maki pushed Umi aside and ran out of the room as fast as she could.

"Wait!" Umi tried to grab before she escaped, but it was no use. Maki was already gone by the time Umi could do anything. That's when Umi walked out of the room and stared down the hall where Maki ran down. "What's going on?" She closed the door and left the school.

However, she had no intention of heading home. Instead, she headed to the nearby park and sat down on the bench. She was hoping to maybe make sense of what was going on around her, but nothing seemed to match up. Just the other day, the two of them were as close as ever and now, it seemed as though Maki didn't even want to look at her. No one changes like that in one day unless if the other person does something incredible horrible to the other. That's when Umi started to really think. Unfortunately, as she thought about it, she realized that she didn't do anything wrong. The two of them talked like nothing and didn't cross any boundaries that shouldn't have been crossed.

"Then what the heck is going on?"

"Umi-chan?"

Umi turned her head and to see Kotori walking towards her.

"Hi, what are you doing here?"

"I saw leaving the school looking kind of depressed so I was worried about you. Are you okay? Can I join you?"

"Sure, I'm just thinking."

"Would you mind me asking what you're thinking about?"

"It's just… One of my friends outright avoided me today and I don't know why."

"Oh really?" In her head, Kotori was getting excited. Her plan was already in full effect.

"Yeah, and I came to the conclusion that I didn't do anything wrong to make her want to avoid me. Personally, I thought things were going really well between us. I don't know why she would act like this."

"Well maybe it's just her. After all, you're special Umi-chan, and there's only one other special person in this world that belongs to you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm just saying that maybe it wasn't meant to be. There are a lot of people out there that can be just as important to you. The most important person could even be the person sitting right next to you."

At that moment, Umi got off the bench and looked right at Kotori.

"Kotori, what did you do?"

"What do you mean? I didn't do anything."

"I'm not stupid. Ever since I started hanging out with Maki-chan, you've been acting different. You may not think that I've noticed, but I have. What's going on?"

"Umi-chan, I can't believe you're accusing me something I didn't even do."

"Kotori!" Umi's voice was loud and firm, indicating that she had total control of this conversation. All Kotori could do was shrink in size and listen to whatever Umi had to say to her. "Tell me the truth or I won't be able to call you my friend anymore."

"Umi-chan?"

"Tell me what you did right now." Her voice grew more demanding, making it even harder for Kotori to disguise herself. Unfortunately, Umi's front was a lot stronger than Kotori's so she eventually gave in to Umi's demands.

"Okay. Okay, just calm down."

"Tell me right now."

Kotori looked right into her eyes and told her what was going on.

"Umi-chan, I love you. I can't keep my feelings suppressed any longer. You're beautiful and caring and everything I've always dreamed about. I just want to know if you feel the same way about me."

"Why are you telling me these things? You know how much I hate jokes like this."

"I'm not joking. I really love you and I really want to be with you. I… The reason why Maki-chan avoided you today because I threatened her."

"You what?!" Umi suddenly grabbed Kotori's collar and stared into her soul.

"I was jealous. I was jealous of her being able to spend time with you. I was jealous of her being able to be so close to you and you didn't even seem to mind. She made you smile. You made her smile. It was unbelievable. I wanted that to be me and the only way I knew that that could happen was getting rid of her."

"Why would you do that?!"

"Because I love you Umi-chan!" Tears started to run down her face. "I felt something strange in my chest for so long, but I was never able to figure out what it meant. It wasn't until I got to be alone with you more often when it made sense. It was love. I wanted to be happy. You were able to do that for me just by being with me every day. I didn't want to lose that to some girl you only met this year."

The conversation suddenly went quiet. Umi let go of Kotori's collar and took a step back. Her face was dark and bent over. Kotori looked at Umi, but couldn't even see her eyes. A few more seconds went by until Umi finally responded to her confession.

"You say you want to be happy… But did you ever think about me; the things that make me happy?"

"I, uh… I don't…"

"No you didn't."

"Umi-chan, I…"

"Maki-chan makes me happy, and I make her happy. Love can't be one-sided, even I know that. What you did is unforgiveable. All I can do now is hope that Maki-chan will accept my apologies. Kotori, I don't know you anymore."

Umi turned around and headed home, leaving Kotori all alone in that park. When she got home, her family welcomed her back with big smiles. However, Umi just blazed right through them. She headed up to her room and slammed the door behind her. She fell onto her bed and shoved her face into her pillow.

"What just happened? That wasn't Kotori. That wasn't even me. Who am I to know what love is? I'm so stupid. Maybe I should apologize to Kotori. I was a little rough. Yeah… I think I will."

Ring! Before Umi could even think about reaching for her phone, she received a call. It was from Honoka.

"Hello?"

"Hi Umi-chan, what's up?"

"Honoka, hey, are you busy?"

"Of course not. Why else would I be calling you?"

"Sorry. I was wondering if I could talk to you about something."

"Sure. Go ahead."

End of Chapter 18


	19. Chapter 19

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 19

Umi's Impact

 **Note:** Hey everyone, I hope the end of the school year is going well for all of you. As for me, I am done and am entering summer mode. My stories will continue to come out, but at a lot slower rate than when I'm actually working. Another thing... I'll be live on twitch this Friday starting at 9am PST. If you could check it out, it would really mean the world to me. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the update and be sure to start off your summer with a bang.

That night, Umi told Honoka everything about what was going on. Umi knew that telling her wouldn't mean much since Honoka could be quite the airhead in certain situations. However, she surprised Umi with her help and support. The interesting thing was that she told Umi to forgive Kotori for her actions. During the meeting from the other day, she was one of the girls that said Umi should be with Kotori so this made sense. At the same time, Umi was still a little torn between what she needed to do. Hearing what Honoka told her put her mind at ease, but it was still too difficult to choose what to do.

When the next day came around, Umi decided to head into town. She had no objectives. All she wanted to do was maybe find a way to choose the right thing to do. As she wandered around town, she Eli and Nozomi on a date. The two of them saw her first so they just had to intervene.

Of course, Umi was acting a little strange so they had to pry. Umi eventually told them what she told Honoka and that's when they inputted their advice as well. They were also on board for being with Kotori so this only solidified her thought process. At this point in time, it was seeming that apologizing and possibly accepting Kotori would be the right thing to do. Unfortunately, Umi couldn't shake that sense of doubt. The thing she said to Kotori about her own happiness. That was still in play, and Kotori's actions towards her were anything but selfless.

After their encounter, they went their separate ways. Umi continued to walk around for about an hour or so until she came across two other people she knew. It was Rin and Hanayo and they appeared to be on a date as well. Seeing two couples in this short amount of time really made Umi start to feel uncomfortable. The reason why she was like this was because of love. She knew that love was something that no one actually understood, but right now, she wanted some kind of an answer.

Rin and Hanayo walked up to Umi and gave her a hug. These girls were very sweet to her ever since they met each other so they managed to put a smile on Umi's face. This time, Umi decided to talk first. She told them about what was going on with her and they gave her their advice. This was when things started to change.

They told her that Maki was the appropriate choice. However, they didn't word it like that. They explained to Umi that sometimes, people she doesn't even know could be the one for her. That's when they told her about how they eventually came together. They thanked her for bringing them together even though Umi didn't think she was responsible for that at all.

Because they split her decision, Umi's mind was starting to feel jumbled again. Nothing was making sense to her. Umi was forced to part ways with them in the hopes that being alone might help soothe her internal struggle. Unfortunately, that didn't do much for her. The more she tried to avoid thinking of the subject, the more her head started to hurt. Before she went any further into town, she turned around and decided to head back home.

On her way back, she heard some music playing the distance. It was pop music, but for some reason, the music sounded so familiar to her. She decided to follow the source of the music until she found herself walking into a park. Once she was there, she was a pretty nice looking stage that had a lone girl standing on it. The closer she got, the more Umi realized that it was Nico, the girl who said she would be a school idol.

"Nico-senpai, what are you doing here?"

"What's it look like? I'm practicing for my next concert."

"Haha, you are definitely taking this seriously."

"Of course I am. I won't be world-famous if I don't practice."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Umi's head dipped down which immediately told Nico that there was something wrong with her. Of course, Nico knew what was going on, but she wanted to ease into the conversation.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Nico-senpai, I've been really conflicted lately. Would you be able to help me?"

"Absolutely. I can't call myself a school idol if I can't help out a friend." She jumped down from the stage and guided Umi to a bench near the stage. "So, how may I be of assistance?"

"So I have this friend. Her name is Kotori and she recently confessed her love to me. Now, we've been friends for a long time so it kind of makes sense for certain friends to develop feelings for each other. However, at the same time, I met this girl who's very special. She's sweet and super talented. We've been spending a lot of time together, but when Kotori found put about this, she threatened Maki to stay away from me. Kotori did all of this because she loves me. How am I supposed to handle this situation after everything that's been going on?" Umi suddenly fell onto Nico's lap and covered her face.

"That is definitely a conflict you got going on there. Even though I say that I will be world-famous and help everyone I meet, I'm not too sure if I know how to help…"

"Please… I need some voice of reason."

After hearing what Honoka told her in that meeting and how Umi's reacting to this situation, Nico was nearly thrown off of her feet. It was seeming to be a lot tougher on Umi than at first glance.

"I can try. First off, how do you feel when you're with Kotori? And I'm asking before things got awkward between the two of you."

"Um… Kotori was so sweet. I always felt like I was needed whenever I was with her. She constantly talked about how I was special to her. At the time, I didn't know what she really meant. I just thought that we were really good friends."

"What about Maki-chan?"

"Maki-chan? Well, she's unique. She makes me feel comfortable, like I can talk about anything and she'll listen. She also taught me how to play piano so that's awesome in itself."

"Okay. Let me ask you this then… Has Kotori ever done anything for you that made you feel loved?"

"Of course. She always did a birthday party for me."

"No. I mean something where it was just out of the kindness of her heart. No special circumstances… Something she did just because she wanted to."

"I mean, she took me out for a special day, but that was when she confessed her love."

"So she had an ulterior motive?"

"I guess."

"What about Maki-chan? Has she done anything for you?"

"We haven't really been together all that long, but she did teach me piano."

"And has she hinted at receiving anything from you for her service?"

"I don't think so. She does talk a lot about how thankful she is that I'm spending time with her."

"I see. Well, I believe I have your voice of reason."

"You do," Umi asked as she sat up.

"I know you're going to hate this answer, but you should follow your heart. Don't think about what's right or wrong, don't think about what might happen around you if you pick a certain person; all you need to do is think about who makes you happy and who you can return the favor to. That's the most logical thing to do. I hope that helps."

"I think so."

"Now, let's clear your mind. I'm going to teach you my routine for my next concert." Nico suddenly grabbed Umi's hand and pulled her onto the stage. From then until sunset, Nico worked with Umi and made sure that she got every single detail of the routine locked within her brain.

End of Chapter 19


	20. Chapter 20

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 20

Umi's Decision

Umi was all alone at home. After hearing what her friends told her, all she could do now was decide what to do. All of them had really good points that only made choosing even harder. However, there was one person who managed to leave an impression on her and that was Nico. To her, it didn't seem like she gave her an answer. All she said really did was make her examine the entire situation and pick the best outcome for her. Unfortunately, Umi didn't really feel comfortable about picking what felt right for her.

Umi never realized it, but she was a selfless person. When it came to other people, she only wanted the people around her to be happy. This was another thing that made choosing who to be with a challenge. Whoever she picked meant that the other girl would be quite heartbroken. Also, there was no way she was going to say no to either of them. That would just leave all of their relationships completely awkward and maybe even inexistent. If that were to happen, Umi wouldn't even be happy.

Her internal conflict was unlike anything she's ever faced.

…

Kotori was lying on her bed, nearly drowning in her own tears. She was in pain. Part of it was because of what Umi told her. The other part was her own actions. Umi has never been cold to her before so hearing something like that for the first time definitely made Kotori think twice about the whole thing.

However, she couldn't help but think about what happened on their date. She confessed her love and kissed Umi for the very first time. Immediately after their kiss, Umi kissed her back which sent sparks through her body. That was so uncharacteristic of Umi and yet, Kotori couldn't let go of it. Even if Umi was mad at her, she knew that she had a special place in Umi's heart. Why else would she kiss her?

…

Maki was avoiding contact from everyone around her. She was still thinking about Kotori and what she told her about Umi. Maki didn't know a lot about Umi, but she did know that she was one of the more popular girls in school. Every girl wanted to be recognized by Umi and Maki was lucky enough to be one of them. However, Kotori was the most special person to Umi so there was no reason for Maki to try for something that she could never achieve. That's when she walked over to her desk and grabbed an envelope. It was sealed with a heart-shaped sticker. She ripped it open and started to read what was inside of it.

"Dear Umi-senpai, I don't really know why I wrote this for you when I could easily tell you myself. Spending time with you these past few days have been incredible. You make me feel special and you're so cool. I'm definitely too much of a coward to tell you this in person so I think this is the reason I wrote this letter. Would you please go out with me?"

Out of nowhere, Maki ripped up the letter and threw the bits of paper all over her room. As she looked down at the devastation she caused, a teardrop fell to the floor.

"Huh?" She wiped her eyes and felt some tears smear across her face. "Why am I crying?"

Ding dong! At that moment, the doorbell rang which caused her to be a little curious. She propped open her door and saw her mother open it up. Unfortunately, she couldn't see who it was, but she was able to hear the entire conversation going on downstairs.

"Umi-chan, it's so nice to see you. How are you?"

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm wonderful. What brings you here?"

"I was actually wondering if Maki-chan was home."

"Um…" Her mother turned around and managed to see Maki peeking through her door. However, Maki was shaking her head vigorously. "You know what, Maki isn't home right now. Would you like to leave a message for her?"

"Um… I just wanted to talk to her about something. When she comes back, can you let her know that I came by?"

"I can do that."

"Thank you."

"Alright, take care. It was nice seeing you again."

"It was nice seeing you too." Umi turned around and headed back towards her house. However, right as she cleared the gate of the house, she turned right in the direction of town.

"Maki, get your butt down here now!"

Maki took a deep breath and slowly opened her door.

"I said come down here."

She slowly walked down the stairs to where her mother was.

"Yes mom?"

"What was that about?"

"What do you mean?"

"That was Umi-chan. She wanted to see you. Why did you avoid her?"

"I don't know."

"I don't know is not a good enough answer. You know that Umi-chan is a bright young woman. She's someone you should always want to hang out with. And also, what did you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"She said she needed to talk with you. Did you do something to make Umi-chan not like you?"

"Of course not. I would never do anything like that."

"Well, you get out there and talk to her." At that moment, her mother pushed her outside of the house. "Until then, you cannot come back inside."

"But…"

Her words were wasted. Her mother slammed the door right in her face which only meant that she had to find Umi. Unfortunately, she couldn't really do that because of what Kotori told her. Instead, she just headed into town and thought of how much time it would take if she actually came across Umi.

…

Umi wandered around aimlessly. She was still unable to come up with a solution to her problem, but as she walked around, she caught a glimpse of someone who looked like Maki. She called out to her and right as the person heard her, they immediately started to walk the other direction. This response caused Umi to follow them in wonder. In her head, she thought that if it wasn't Maki, why would they be walking away from her? She continued to follow her until eventually she lost sight of them. She looked around desperately, but couldn't find anyone so she decided to give up.

Meanwhile, the person who she was following was Maki. She was right around the corner, breathing heavily. It wasn't her escape plan that caused her to breathe so heavily. It was the fact that she saw Umi again. Although she was told not to affiliate herself with Umi, she couldn't help but feel flustered whenever she saw her.

She continued to wait a few more minutes just to be safe. Once she believed that Umi had finally left, she fell onto the floor and put her hands on her head.

"What am I doing? I mean… Should I be doing this? This just doesn't seem right."

…

Eventually, Maki came home, but when she opened the door, she saw someone waiting for her. It was Kotori.

"Maki, you have a visitor. She said it was urgent so she decided to wait for you to come back."

"Hi Maki-san."

"Hi," she said nervously.

"I'll just leave you two alone." Maki's mother left the room and once she left, Kotori immediately started up the conversation.

"I think I need to tell you something."

"It's fine. I've listened to you completely. I haven't talked to Umi-senpai at all so please don't get mad at me."

"No, that's not why I'm here."

"What do you mean?"

I've hurt Umi-chan," she said softly. Her head fell to the floor as she avoided eye contact with Maki. "I thought I could get her to love me by making myself the only person in her life, but that only made things worse. Umi-chan got angry with me, and this is a different kind of anger than I've ever seen. I realized it too late because I didn't want to face the truth, but someone already stole her heart… And that person is you."

Maki's face suddenly opened up in surprise.

"What are you talking about?"

"Umi-chan doesn't love me. She holds a special place in her heart for someone else… You." A tear suddenly rolled down Kotori's face. At the same time, Maki saw this and wiped it from her face.

"Please don't cry."

"I… I have to. I've loved Umi-chan for so long and yet, I could never be her special person."

"Well, if that's true, I don't want to steal her away from you."

"No, you must take her away from me. I didn't think about this until just recently, but I want Umi-chan to be happy. Whenever she's with you, I know she's happy and that makes me even happier. Please… Go to Umi-chan and tell her how you feel because I know you feel the same way about her."

"Are you sure?"

Kotori nodded her head and gave Maki the best smile she could give her at the time.

"Okay. Thank you so much for your blessing." At that moment, Maki turned around and left the house. Kotori followed close behind her and watched as she ran to Umi's house and full speed. This sight brought her much joy and pain at the same time. She knew that her beloved Umi-chan would belong to someone else. However, she had to stay strong because she wanted this for all of them.

"Goodbye Umi-chan."

End of Chapter 20


	21. Chapter 21

Am I in a Harem?

Chapter 21

Harem Comes to an End

 **Note:** This is the final chapter of the story. I hope you all enjoyed the story and I'm sorry that the tail end of this story got a little scarce. Anyway, enjoy the finale to another one of my stories.

Maki ran across town to Umi's house. it was a bit of distance away so when she arrived, she was completely out of breath. She knocked on the door and waited until someone answered. Unfortunately, it was her mother.

"Hi. How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Sonoda-san. Is she here?"

"She's not home right now, but she is at the dojo little ways down that way. I'm sure you'll find her there."

"Okay. Thank you." Maki suddenly turned around and headed in the direction she was told. It only took her a second to find it, but when she did, she poked her head through the gate and saw Umi standing alone. She was dressed in her archery outfit and practicing her shots. As she watched, she couldn't help but be entranced by this sight. Umi just looked so calm that she didn't want to disturb that peace.

"Maki? Is that you?"

At that moment, Maki suddenly cowered behind the door, hoping she avoided real eye contact with Umi. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists, hoping that that method would protect her from being revealed.

"Maki? What are you doing here?"

"Hyah!" The sound of Umi's voice right next to her face caused her to jump a little. "Huh? I'm not doing anything. Why would you think I'm doing something? Aren't you doing something?"

"Maki, I didn't ask that. I was wondering what you were doing here."

"Oh haha. Yeah…" Maki was struggling to find the words she wanted to say. She was there for a reason, but now that Umi was right in front of her, her brain just wouldn't work.

"Maki, are you okay? You've been avoiding for some time and then you suddenly show up here. Is there something wrong?"

"Yes, there is. I don't know why I'm like this whenever I talk to you. I always seem to plan out what I want to say, but whenever I'm with you, my brain just stops working. My heart starts pounding and I don't know why. It's all just…"

"Maki, calm down." Umi placed her hands on Maki's shoulders and looked her right in the eye. "All you have to do is say what you want to say. It's not that hard, trust me."

"Okay, alright. I think I can do it now." Maki took another deep breath and did her best to calm herself down. "Okay, the reason I'm here is because of something a little awkward for me to talk about. I don't really know how to go about telling you which is why I'm acting a little strange, but it's just so difficult to talk about."

"Maki, do you like me?"

Maki's eyes suddenly shot wide open. "I… I do. I really do. How did you know?"

"Because I've actually developed some feelings for you too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Ever since we started playing together in the music room, I knew that there was something special about you."

"Really? I feel the same way about you. When we started hanging out, I just felt very comfortable and myself around you. maybe not so much when I actually talk to you, but…"

"Haha." Umi started to giggle to herself.

"Umi… I would really like to go out with you." Maki's face shot bright red as she bowed her head to Umi.

"I would love to go out with as well, Maki."

"Huh?" She suddenly brought her head back up to look at Umi.

"I'll go out with you," she said with a smile.

…

The next day, Umi and Maki decided to walk home together. They looked so happy together as they walked onto campus. One of the people who spotted them walking together was Kotori. She was too afraid to show her face so she remained in the shadows. It wasn't until Honoka made it onto campus when she noticed Kotori's strange behavior.

"Kotori-chan, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"No, I'm pretty sure there's something wrong. Usually you're always so happy this early in the morning. Does this have something to do with Umi-chan?"

"Y-Yes." She bowed her head in shame.

"Well, what is it?"

"It's Umi-chan and that girl."

"Oohhh." It was all starting to make more sense to her.

"I'm told myself that I would let Umi-chan go, but as I watch those two together, it just brings pain to my chest. Why?"

"Have you ever told Umi-chan about how you feel?"

"Yes. It's just that I didn't really do it at the right time."

"Well, just go tell her now."

"I can't do that! She's with that girl now. What kind of person would that make me if I confess my feelings to her when she's obviously taken now?"

"Kotori-chan, I know it may seem bad, but it'll only get worse if you don't tell Umi-chan how you feel. I'm sure it'll make both of you feel better."

…

When class started, Umi quickly realized that Kotori wasn't there. She asked Honoka if she knew anything, but she was playing hard to get. Throughout the entire class period, she kept pestering Honoka until she finally gave in and told her that she was on the roof. Once lunch came around, Umi made her way up to the roof where Kotori was waiting. She was looking out into the distance, not caring about anything else around her.

"Kotori, what are you doing up here?"

"Umi-chan," she said as she turned around slowly. "I need to tell you something."

"Okay. What's up?"

"I timed this horribly the last time and I really need you to know even though it doesn't mean anything anymore." She took a deep breath and looked right at Umi. "I love you Umi-chan. I've loved you for so long, but I just haven't been confident enough to tell you. I told Maki what I did to her and then apologized to her. Now, I know you're probably already dating her, but I just think that I can take care of you more than she can. I can love you more than she can. Unfortunately, because of what I did, you'd never give me a chance. You'd want us to keep this friendship. I just… Not being with me hurts me." Tears started to roll down her face as she starts to grow weak at the knees. "I'm sorry for doing this to you. I just love you so much, Umi-chan."

"Kotori." Umi walked up to her and put her hand on her cheek. This caused Kotori to look up at her with red, puffy eyes. "You are my most cherished friend. I know it may not seem like it, but I love you too. You've done so much for me which I'm grateful for. I just can't be that kind of person to you. I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth."

"I understand."

"But after everything you've done, I'll give you this." Umi suddenly leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Just know that I will always care about you no matter what. I promise."

"O-Okay," Kotori whispered weakly.

In her heart, she knew that that was the most she would ever get from Umi. However, it was all that she could possibly ask for. Umi was her bestest friend so nothing could possibly separate the two of them, not even love, and this was what was going to keep Kotori staying afloat… That slight chance of Umi coming back to her was now her everything.

The End


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